Relativity
by BuggyFiction
Summary: Some say that if the path you're on is clear, that you're likely on someone else's. After having had a bad experience with her ex-boyfriend and his family, can this new family in town help Bella recover and get her revenge? What will she find out about herself and others? Where will Bella's path lead her?
1. Chapter 1

"Senior year tomorrow, are you excited?"

Bella looked over to her best friend and sighed. "No," she replied before looking back at the sky. The clouds were beautiful today. Big, puffy clouds and she and Jake were trying to find shapes in them. "I mean… I guess? One more year here in Forks."

"And then you can escape," Jake laughed. "Leave me."

"But I don't want to! If only Forks had a college, that would have been amazing! Instead, I need to look for somewhere else!"

Jake huffed. "Who needs college anyway?"

Bella looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "So you want to be a dumb mechanic?"

"Well, no, but I can do an apprenticeship for a few years to get additional certifications," he replied. "No college involved," Jake added proudly. "Do you even want to know what you want to do?"

Bella shrugged. "We'll see. Maybe travel the world a bit, take a gap year or something. See history up close, and maybe I'll go and study history after. You want to come with?"

He let out a snort and shook his head. "Nah, Loca, I'm fine where I am. And I thought you had donated all the money they paid you off with to charity?"

"I did," Bella nodded as she sucked in a breath. "I kept a small portion of it for myself, though. To pay for college so Charlie doesn't have to. Figured I earned it after what that asshole did. It's been gathering interest in my savings account, so…" she shrugged. "But I'd really like you to join me."

"Again, I'm staying here," Jake laughed. "There is no way I'm going to fly."

"Well, we could road trip through America instead?"

"Nope."

"Jake!" Bella let out a whine. "We do everything together! Why not this?"

He sighed then as he sat up to look at her. "I've helped you to get over that asshole as the good friend that I am, but I'm starting to think that you're clinging onto me now."

"You're a jerk."

"I'll always be here, Bells, but it's time for you to do things on your own. You're a strong and beautiful woman, and I'll only be holding you back. So, this year, I'm going to focus on weaning you off of me."

"Jake!"

"What?" he laughed. "You'll be fine, and we're still friends."

Bella pouted as she punched him in the arm. "You're not being fair, we're always together."

"And that's why that needs to change."

"Why?"

Jake started to blush then. "I may have my eye on a girl… and I doubt she'll like it that my best friend acts like we're Siamese twins."

Bella sat up and pushed her hair out of her face before punching him again. "You could have lead with that titbit, Jake. You want space? Of course, I'll give you your space so you can do whatever you want," she smiled at him before hugging him and getting to her feet. "I'd better get home. Charlie wants to do his annual back to school dinner, which means I have to cook it," she said before running off to her truck and drove straight home, barely keeping it together.

Why was this hurting so much? She saw Jake almost every day, and during breaks she saw him all the time, they always had fun and there hadn't been anything wrong until she'd mentioned she wanted to travel the world. With him. And then he rejected her. Wanting to stay at the Rez, wanting her to be on her own. Fuck him. Seriously.

If he wanted to be left alone, she was going to leave him alone. Fuck him.

She parked her truck in front of the house and walked inside, slamming the door shut before running upstairs to her room.

Tomorrow, everything was going to change.

~o.O.o~

Bella sat down at their usual table for lunch the next day after a dreadful start of the day. They had a substitute Spanish teacher and she was more… advanced than they were. The teacher didn't like to stick to the curriculum either, and it was hard to keep up. And just because the day couldn't get any worse, the woman was also their history teacher, but that was a permanent role for her.

Bella was impressed by the lesson though, the woman managed to teach them in a way that it sounded as if she'd been present in the particular event that they were learning about and were supposed to write an essay about.

"Hi Bella!" Jessica greeted her as she sat down next to her and Mike sat down next to Jessica. "We missed you over the summer."

"Uh, yeah, I spent some time with Jake on the rez," Bella smiled as she looked at her two friends and didn't miss the look between them. "When did you two happen?"

"Over the summer," Jessica blushed. "Mike found me on the side of the road when my tire blew and it was raining and… well, things happened."

Bella smiled as she took a sip of her drink. "I'm happy for you guys."

"Really?" Mike blinked at her. "I thought we had something special Bella!"

She barked out a laugh and shook her head. "You wish!"

"Sooo," Jessica lowered her voice as she scooted closer to Bella. "Did you have the new student in your class yet?"

"What new student?"

"He and his younger sister have started school today. He's a senior and he's super hot. And, God, Bella, an accent to die for!" Jessica then looked at Mike. "For her, not for me, you're mine." She then looked back at Bella. "I think he's in chemistry and physics with you."

"And how would you know?"

"I asked," Jessica grinned as she nodded at the boy just entering the cafeteria. "There he is."

Bella took a bite of her apple and tried counting to ten before answering. "Jessica, I appreciate the thought but I'm done with guys."

Mike's eyes widened in shock as he nearly choked on his sandwich. "You're a lesbian?!" He could already see the possibilities with that. Oh man.

"Down boy," Bella replied as she stared him down. "No, I'm done. Men are assholes. They're lousy boyfriends and lousy friends."

"Oh, someone sounds bitter," Angela's voice sounded as she sat down opposite of Bella and was followed suit by Ben. "Who's hurt you this time?"

"Nobody," Bella replied as she finished eating her apple. "I'm just better off without them."

"Okay, so, any plans for this weekend? Shall we go to Port Angeles with the five of us?" Mike asked, desperately wanting to change the conversation before Bella would pull them back into the vortex of depression she'd been experiencing ever since Edward Cullen and his family had messed with her. It was a good thing they left, but she'd never been the same after. Not even with help from her friend Jake. "You can't say 'no', Bella. The others can, but you can't."

Bella let out a snort. "Mike, I'm fine."

"I said you can't say 'no'."

"Well, I have to," Bella replied. "Charlie has a thing over at the station and I promised I'd help out with serving coffee and snacks. Do you want me to cancel on Charlie?"

Mike swallowed and shook his head. "No, the last time I told you to cancel on him he tried to arrest me. I still don't like it that you're the chief's daughter."

She barked out a laugh and shook her head. "I love my dad."

"Daddy's little girl."

"Damn straight," Bella replied. "Maybe next week. Let's get through the first week first, shall we?"

She wasn't entirely sure why she had kept physics as a subject for her senior year. Chemistry was a lot of fun, sure, and quite easy because she loved to cook, but physics? What was she going to do with physics when she wanted to do something with history? Well, likely. She wasn't sure what she was going to do after high school and the gap year had been an excuse, was still an excuse, but she had absolutely no clue.

She settled in the back of the class and decided that it was going to be her spot for the rest of the year. Sure, Bella was going to pay attention, but at least nobody would see how hard she had to work for a grade for this. She had just put her book down when someone bumped against her table to get to the empty table next to her.

"Sorry," the boy replied. English accent. New kid.

Bella looked at him as she shrugged. "I'm fine, did you hurt yourself?"

"Nah," he smiled at her as he sat down and looked to the front of the classroom where the teacher was still absent before extending his hand to her. "Kol."

"Welcome to Forks, Kol," she said as she kept her hands to herself.

He tilted his head as he looked at her. "Normally one would take the hand offered, shake it and introduce themselves in return. You're being rude, miss."

"No, I'm not interested in chit-chat," she replied. Why did this guy remind her of Edward? "Leave me alone."

Kol sat down next to her in chemistry too, and tried to talk to her but Bella ignored him and once school was done, she hopped in her truck and after buying some groceries headed back home to do her homework.

~o.O.o~

It was almost as if the new guy was in all of her classes now. As if he had switched some out, and it was annoying. Edward had swapped out classes at first because of her before later swapping back.. Everyone was annoying and she hated to admit it, but even Jessica and Angela were getting on her nerves. She wasn't closing herself off, she just didn't want anything to do with guys anymore.

On Wednesday she found herself alone at the lunch table and Kol joined her. Without asking. "What do you want?"

Kol sighed as he took a sip from his drink. "My siblings want me to make friends, interact with people and you seem to be a nice person. I thought that perhaps you and I could become friends but all you've been doing is shutting me down."

"I'm not interested," she replied as she looked at him. "There are plenty of other people in school."

He smiled then. "Perhaps, but you're the one who's actively avoiding me. I cannot help but be slightly intrigued," he replied. "What's your damage?"

"Excuse me?"

Kol shrugged. "Are you merely anti-social or have you been hurt by a boy in the past? A boyfriend maybe? A friend? Both?"

Bella narrowed her eyes on him. "Seems like you've been asking around about me. Is that why my friends aren't here right now?"

"Maybe," Kol smiled. "But that's alright, darling, I'm damaged goods myself. Perhaps we could aid each other?"

"I'm fine," she said evenly as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

"But perhaps I'm not."

"We've got a school counselor."

"Adults suck."

"Try the new teacher. She's pretty. You can flirt with her."

Kol's face scrunched up as if he had eaten a lemon. "No, thanks. That's my brother's wife."

Bella let out a snort. "A family member that's a teacher. You're screwed."

"Could be worse."

Bella let out a breath and nodded. "Yep, like your dad being the police chief."

Kol blinked. "You're the chief's daughter?!"

"Yep. Regret wanting me to be your friend now?"

"Nope. Definitely need to make you my bestie now. Especially if you can get him to cancel out that ticket he gave me last week," he admitted with a little smile.

She cocked her head with a slight smile as she took out her phone. "Why were you speeding?"

"Who said I was speeding, and not double parked?"

She shrugged. "I figured that guys like you like their fast cars. The more expensive the better. What kind of car do you have? That Porsche in the lot outside? Would be a shame to double park that, seeing as it could get scratches, so I think he caught you speeding."

He slightly paled then. "Yes, it's mine and yes, I was speeding… a little…"

Bella hummed. "Not sure if he'll cancel it, but sure, let's try," she said as she started to type. "Hi Dad, this new student at school is curious if you could forget that you gave him a speeding ticket. He was driving a Porsche."

_Hell no_.

"Yeah… sorry," Bella said as she looked at Kol. "Not gonna happen."

"It was worth a shot, thank you. I guess I'll have to go over to pay after school then."

"That would be wise, yes," she said as she took another bite off her sandwich. "And it would be wise if you stayed away from me, too."

"Why?"

"Because, to me, you appear to be an entitled brat and I've had enough of those," she said before getting up, throwing her sandwich on her tray and headed to throw it all away. She had lost her appetite.

Bella headed to her next class already, passing the new teacher who was snickering as the teacher was texting on her phone. But Bella knew better, the teacher was likely snickering because of what had just happened. Turning around, Bella walked to the teacher and sighed. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"I'm not feeling too well, is it alright if I go home?"

She raised an eyebrow. "It's the first week of school. Certainly, Kol isn't that annoying? I mean, I know he is, I live with him, but I think he could be tolerable. Even if he could use a good dose of humility. Thanks for that by the way."

"He needs to stay away from me."

Myriam sighed as she put an arm around the girl and lead her away from the students and pulled her into a classroom. Sitting her down, she sat down herself. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing, I just need him to stay away from me."

"Bella, please. I hear the other teachers talk about you. Your friends. They say you're not doing well. You can tell me," Myriam said as she compelled the girl.

"Yeah, not going to happen," Bella said as she got to her feet. "If you won't excuse me for the rest of the day, I'll find someone who will."

The teacher sat back, blinking in confusion as she stared at the girl. "Um, yeah, sure…"

"Thank you," Bella let out a breath and walked out of the classroom, pushed through the students returning to their classes and headed outside to take a few breaths as she walked to her truck. Fucking Jake. This was all Jake's fault. She kicked against the tire of her truck and she could feel something break in her foot and she hit her cab out of frustration.

She wanted to call Jake, yell at him, but no, she wasn't going to do that. She would not give him the satisfaction. And perhaps he'd been right, she'd grown too attached to him, but once again, a great guy had turned into a giant fucking asshole.

"Excuse me," a girl asked as she walked towards Bella. "Is this your truck?"

"Yeah, I'm going home."

"So do I, but my brother and I usually travel together and I'm not feeling so well today… could I get a lift?"

"You're Kol's sister?"

"Rebekah."

"Your brother is a jerk."

"He can be," Rebekah smiled at her. "So is that a yes? Otherwise I'd have to call my other brother and he can be a beast. Literally. I suppose it's better than the other one, who can be a monster, but yeah."

Bella sighed. "Yeah, fine, get in, I'll drive you home."

"Great, thank you!" Rebekah said as she got into the truck. "He's currently in a council meeting today with all the town officials. He would not like it if I'd call him for something as trivial as feeling sick."

"I understand, don't worry," Bella said as she closed her door and winced as she tried to start her truck. She was going to have to go to the doctor to see if it was broken or something after dropping off Rebekah. "So, where to?" Bella asked as she turned out of the parking lot.

"Ah, we bought a house just outside of town, in the woods."

Bella stepped on her brake and looked at her. "There's only one house in the woods that I know of."

"My brothers like some space, this was the biggest one in town that was for sale and available on short notice. Do you know where it is?"

"Unfortunately I do," Bella sighed. "That place has some bad energy."

"Oh yeah, Myriam got rid of it," Rebekah smiled at her. "Apart from a teacher, she's great with cleansing areas. She's all floaty and stuff."

"So she's a witch?"

"Say what now?" Rebekah laughed. "A witch? From those stories? Don't be daft!"

Bella shrugged as she started to drive again. "Forks is a strange place, Rebekah. Perhaps witches aren't real, but I've seen some weird things."

"Well, I can promise you that Myriam is not a witch. But a bundle of dried sage and some words of intent can do a lot for a house. Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Magical?"

"No. Like I said, I've seen some weird shit since I moved to Forks. If I were you I'd be careful. Those woods around that house you're living in have seen a lot of shit."

"Oh don't worry, my older brothers won't allow me to go into the woods at night by myself."

"Where are your parents?"

"Dead."

Bella frowned, feeling slightly remorseful over how she treated Kol now. "Oh. Sorry," she mumbled, glancing at the girl. "I didn't know."

"That's alright," Rebekah smiled at her. "They died a long time ago. Only the teachers know, too. We don't want any special treatment."

"Still, I was a jerk to Kol."

"It's fine, he can deal with a few dents in his ego, don't you fret," Rebekah replied kindly. "If anything, your behavior towards him is refreshing."

"My behavior towards him isn't right. I know that. And I thought I could deal with this," Bella said a bit remorseful. "But he reminds me of my ex-boyfriend. And boys are just terrible."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Kol is the least of your worries. If you'd have done that to my older brother, he might be offended and could retaliate. Then Myriam had to step in to defend his honor and things could get messy," Rebekah smiled at her. "Kol's a sweetheart. Just… unrefined. My brothers like to bully him."

"Oh great, now I feel even worse!"

"Don't worry. He'll eventually do something to piss you off again."

Bella scowled as she turned into the familiar road towards the house that she knew so well. She tightly gripped the wheel of her truck as she drove and tried not to think about _him_. Arriving at the house, she turned the car around and barely moved. "Get well soon, Rebekah." From what Bella could see from staring out in front of her, they had remodeled the house somewhat. Gone were the big glass windows, and it looked a lot cosier than it had been. Less sterile. Which was good. But merely sitting in the driveway made her feel nauseous.

"Do you want to come in?"

"No, I think I need to go to the doctor… I might have broken something while I kicked against my truck."

"Is it this house? Do you have some bad memories attached to it?"

"Rebekah, please."

Rebekah sighed and nodded. "Thank you for this enlightening drive home, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow in school."


	2. Chapter 2

Bella hadn't broken anything major, so all the doctor did was to put a bandage on her foot to stabilize it and everything had to heal on its own. Until it healed, walking and driving was going to be a bitch, but she was going to have to endure it. It was punishment for being a jerk to Kol and for being so uneasy at the former house of her ex-boyfriend.

It was just a house.

Rebekah wasn't in school the next day, which was a pity because Bella wanted to apologize to her, but Bella knew that Kol was at school as she nearly drove into his Porsche while trying to park. That would have been a nightmare for the insurance!

Bella found him in English class, sitting next to the only empty table in the classroom, so she sat down next to him. "I'm sorry for my behavior towards you."

"I don't want your pity, Bella," Kol spat. "That's exactly why only teachers know about our parents being dead. I can't believe my sister told you."

"It's not because of that," Bella replied. "Never mind, it's complicated. I just wanted to apologize," she added as she pulled her book out of her bag. "If you don't want it, it's fine with me," she added before opening her book and started to focus on the teacher.

Halfway during class, Kol threw a note on her desk. _Shall we get out of here?_

She looked at him and frowned. "It's the first week of school!" she hissed.

"I don't care!" he hissed back, a cheeky smile on his face.

"No, what if my dad catches us?"

"We'll go to Port Angeles. Or Seattle. Somewhere. Come on, you know this area better than I do."

Bella sighed and nodded. "After this class, so it doesn't look too suspicious." Her dad was going to kill her. She should have said no. Kol was going to get her into trouble and she was going to get hurt. He was just like _him_. A family with money. Privileged. Even lived in the same fucking house. And she only said yes because she felt sorry for him. This was a very very bad idea.

~o.O.o~

They had taken her car and she set off on the 101 to head to Port Angeles. An hour of driving with Kol in the passenger seat. "There's a box there with cassette tapes if you'd like to listen to songs, the antenna on my truck got snapped and I couldn't be bothered to get it fixed," she said as she pointed at the glovebox.

"Tapes?"

She pointed at her radio. "Ancient radio. No CDs in this one."

Kol grabbed the box and saw everything labeled neatly. "I love music," he said nodding before putting the box back down. "Myriam gave me an ipod and loaded it up with all sorts of music from the last century, it's quite a treat," he said as he motioned to the cable that was hanging out from the radio. "Mind if I hook it up?"

"Go right ahead," she said with a shrug.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"Port Angeles. Seattle is a big drive and my foot still hurts so…"

"Your foot?"

"Yeah, I kicked my truck yesterday, broke a tiny bone," she lifted her pants leg. "No cast, because it's such a tiny bone but it hurts."

"Then let me drive!" Kol said shocked. "Darling, you should have said something, I'd have picked you up from home!"

"It's fine."

"It's not, no, pull over. I'm going to drive," he said as he unfastened his seatbelt. "Come on."

"The truck is temperamental."

"I'll manage. Pull over."

"Kol, it's my truck."

"And? You'd have done the same if it were me with a hurt foot and driving you. For safety sake, let's swap places," he pleaded with her.

She pulled onto the hard shoulder and hit the brakes hard. "You think my truck isn't safe?!" Yep, just like Edward. "This thing may be old but it's safe. It's being checked regularly by a mechanic and he and I work on the truck ourselves. This is a safe truck!"

Kol blinked at her and held up his hands in defense. "Bella, I think your pretty red truck is perfectly safe, but you driving with a hurt foot is not. In fact, if you and I were to have an accident with our cars, you'd win with barely a scratch and the flashy Porsche my brother bought would be mangled. Allowing me to drive means we'll have a bigger chance of making it back in one piece."

"Fine," she shrugged as she unfastened her seatbelt and hopped out of the truck. "All yours."

"I'm not going to steal it or anything."

"No, more worried you want to replace it with something newer," she muttered under her breath as she climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door. "Just follow this road, we'll be in Port Angeles in like 45 minutes."

Kol didn't miss what she had muttered under her breath. That, and Rebekah's tale about how she was at the house had him worried. They were all aware of the house having been the former residence of a Cold One coven. Had Bella encountered them _and_ survived them? What was she?

He watched her as she turned on his ipod and she looked out the window as she listened to the music. After a while, he spoke up. "I live with my brothers Elijah and Klaus, with Klaus' wife Myriam and my sister Rebekah. We lived a very sheltered life, especially my sister and I, and for me this is actually the first time I have some sort of a high school experience."

"You sound like you were or are in a cult."

Kol let out a snort. "It sometimes feels that way, but no. I'm at Elijah and Klaus' mercy and Myriam is the one who makes sure things don't get out of hand much. I- I have issues with controlling my emotions. Mainly my anger. Or anxiety. It's always a party when both come out to play."

"Rebekah said that one of them is a beast and the other is a monster."

"Pretty accurate. Although the beast is married to Myriam and not that bad in comparison to the monster."

"Are you in trouble?"

He smiled at her then. "Darling, I'm always in trouble, just the way I want it to be."

"But with your brothers, I mean, my dad-"

"Don't worry about me, it's not as bad as it sounds. In fact, I think I'm worse than them in more ways than one. Which might be their fault, but I've never been one for restraint," he grinned as he looked back on the road. "And it's not all that bad, we've traveled a lot, the lot of us. Seen a lot of the world. Trying to escape our tyrants of parents. So it's a good thing they're dead. We can finally settle. I'm just having some… adjustment issues, that's all."

Why did that story sound like the biggest bullcrap there was? He sounded like he was choosing his words far too careful to have the story sound authentic. It sounded calculated. Maybe there was some sort of truth in there, but it didn't sit well with her. "Congrats, you're broken, much like every other teen out there."

"Really?"

Bella nodded. "It's all the rage these days. Bad family life? You're broken. Failing school? Not your fault, you're broken and the system is failing you."

"Are you broken?"

"No. I'm angry."

Ah, they were making progress! Seeing as she was talkative, Kol decided to keep asking. "About what?"

"That's none of your business," she smiled sweetly at him. "It doesn't matter. Once I graduate I'm getting out of here and see the world for a while and then it won't matter at all why I'm angry."

"Darling, from what I know and have experienced over the years, you can run as far as you want to, but your problems would still be there. Perhaps even follow you. And out there, in the world, you could run into more bigger and scarier problems."

"I doubt that," Bella let out a snort. "As long as I avoid Alaska, I'll be fine."

Alaska. Hadn't the Cullens gone there? Elijah had done some research when buying the house a couple of months ago and discovering some relics left behind. Elijah was apprehensive at first of settling for a while in Forks because of the former presence of the Cold Ones and of course, the shifter wolves.

And in all honesty, Kol didn't like this place either. He preferred the sun. Couldn't they have relocated to San Francisco? Yes, they had agreed to leave New Orleans to Marcel Gerard but Forks? Perhaps the small community would be less tempting for Kol to start a mass murder, but still.

But apparently, it's what his family has been doing for years. Move to the least likely places where nobody else would think of trying to find you. Forks was one of those places. "Alaska?"

"Ex-boyfriend," she said as she looked out of the window. "Not worth spilling words over."

"I do love a good gossip."

"No. We can talk about anything else but not that."

Kol smirked. "Did he have a small wiener? He probably had an itsy bitsy dick. Good thing he's an ex. You won't miss much."

She smiled a little at that. "I wouldn't know, he was a prude."

"Or perhaps secretly gay. Just having you as his beard. All into sparkles and feather boas," Kol mused. "Maybe a big, secret disco built into his room so when you'd leave he'd have kinky gay parties. With a giant disco ball."

"That's not nice."

"Well, the guy obviously hurt you otherwise you wouldn't be so tight-lipped about him. I'd love to beat him up for you."

"You can't," she let out a snort and shook her head.

"Because he's in Alaska."

"Yes."

"We'll go there in the next school break."

"No! He'll kill you! And if not him, maybe his siblings will!"

He briefly looked at her with worry. "Did he hit you?"

"No!"

"Did you ever report him?"

"No, and drop it," she said as she nodded to the traffic sign. "The next one left."

"Bella."

"I'm fine, honestly," she replied as she pointed at the turn. "Well, I'm likely not fine seeing as for the last year or so, and especially during the summer, I managed not to think about him and latched onto my best friend to have fun together. And we did. And then the day before school started he told me he needed space and that I had to stay away and live my own life. So…"

"What?"

"I've looked it up, it's called codependency. Apparently, it's a bitch."

Kol started to laugh. "That sounds so much like my brother back in the day until Myriam kicked him in the ass. Literally. Told him to get rid of my older brother. They were like Siamese twins. Elijah didn't think that Klaus could be fine without him."

She bit her lip as Kol parked the truck. "I'm not sure if I'll be fine without my best friend, though. He and his tribe makes me feel safe, and he took that away from me."

"He's on the reservation?" Kol blinked as he turned off the car. This girl was neck deep into the supernatural and she was still standing. How was that even possible? "Want me to kick his ass? I could use a good fight!"

"He doesn't deserve that. I probably deserved this, he was likely annoyed by my presence... And it's fine. I'm fine."

"I think you're not. Which is alright, because neither am I and I think we'll get along swimmingly," he smiled at her as he handed her the keys of the truck before getting out and helping her out the truck as well. "So, where do we go first?"

Bella shrugged. "I don't know, you wanted a change of scenery."

"Lunch?"

"Sure, but let's go to the sandwich place, the Italian isn't that great," she said as she locked her truck and directed Kol to the sandwich place. "Port Angeles has a great bookstore, though. It's owned by a tribal woman and she has all the books. She's helped me a great deal with some uh… research… I did."

He likely had to come up with a plan not to go to that bookstore. It was highly likely that he wouldn't be able to get in. Not only was it privately owned, but Tribal women were also crafty. Not necessarily witches, but tribal magic was just as powerful. "For school?"

"Not really. All the information we need for our essays can be found at school or the internet. This needed some bookish knowledge."

"What was it about?"

"Fairy tales," she smiled at him. "Myths and legends. It was quite an interesting read and it pushed me in the right direction to do more research online."

"I thought you loved history?"

"I do, and sometimes that involves myths and legends. You can't really understand the history of something without learning what's around it or that's what I believe anyway," she lead him down the road past the bookstore they'd likely visit later and Kol felt as if he was being pushed away from it. Yep, the bookstore was going to be a problem. "I heard a lot of tribal myths and legends during campfire, but to find actual ties to the history of the region, that's just awesome."

"Nerd."

"Proud of it," she grinned. "I just like to be thorough and this was a side project of mine. And that's why I want to travel. Visit historic sites myself. Like Pompeii!" she said enthusiastically. "Although… on second thought… that might not be wise…"

"Italy is beautiful."

"Remember what I said about avoiding Alaska earlier? Let's add Italy to that list. I'll be fine as long as I avoid those. And… likely Egypt. I'll probably be fine everywhere else, but maybe I should check that, just in case. I might be stuck forever in Forks," she said sadly before muttering to herself to double check the fine print.

Kol decided to pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. He had an idea, but he was certain that Elijah or Klaus would know more. "Don't be daft. The world is a great place, but like I said, running from your problems only makes them worse or you'll encounter bigger problems because of your problems."

"Look at you, sounding all grown up," she let out a chuckle and pointed at the sandwich store. "Lunch!"

Bella was back home by the end of the school day and Kol decided to walk back to school to pick up his car. For some reason, Bella's foot felt fine, and she decided to take a walk in the woods. To clear her mind. She had taken some things with her to go over, and she wanted to do that away from prying eyes, like her father.

Her talk with Kol, she had kept it as vague as possible, made her realize that she wasn't that free at all. She could travel the world, but she'd likely be hunted, and she needed to be sure. It was her anxiety that was talking to her, and that was fine. She needed to be reassured that she was fine. That she didn't have to stay in Forks for the rest of her life.

That pit in her stomach that had slightly gone, had come back. And that was bad news. She didn't have Jake to fall back on this time. Without Jake, she couldn't stand it and he had made it clear he didn't want her to call him or to stop by. She couldn't bother Jessica or Angie with this, because what was she going to say? Even Jake didn't know the full story but at least he was in the know.

No, she was alone.

And she needed reassurance that her deal had been safe. That she was free to go wherever. If not, she wasn't sure what she'd do. College wouldn't be an option as that would take her to Seattle or further away.

Without Jake, the world was a lot darker. More serious. Cold. And it had only been a couple of days. Less than a week. Bella was stupid and having withdrawal symptoms. Jake? Or… perhaps without Jake, the Edward fall out could now be properly felt? No.

She threw up near the river before rinsing her mouth out with the water and continued to walk. Once she was sure she was all alone, she sat down in a clearing and grabbed the document out of her bag and started to read. Reread. She'd read it a million times, but she could have missed something.

Magic.

Bella didn't underestimate the Cold Ones and their possible knowledge of magic. Because they were magical, why else would they have special gifts?

As she paged through the pages, everything appeared the same. It wasn't until she spilled a bit of water from her bottle on the last page that everything changed. There was an additional paragraph, right above where she signed the agreement. Where Edward and Carlisle signed. And the Volturi Kings.

She felt her heart drop as she gently spread out the water. _This agreement is null and void should Ms. Swan travel more than two hours away from Forks, Washington, United States._

Bella could feel a stabbing pain in her body and hugged her knees to her chest. She was a prisoner. In Forks. She'd be safe from the Cullens, but not if she'd travel far away. She'd been screwed over.

Her freedom had come with the price of not having any.

"Bella."

Bella's head snapped up to the voice she'd just heard. The familiar voice and quickly rushed to her feet as she stuffed the agreement in her bag. "What are you doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I did not expect you to be here," the man said as he came closer. "I went to visit the Cullens, but the house is now filled with different people?"

Oh fuck. "They're not far," Bella replied hesitantly. "I could call Edward if you want, Laurent?"

"I'm surprised they left you behind. Unprotected. Aren't you like... a sort of pet?"

"You could say that."

"Do the Cullens return often?"

"Just because their home is now filled with different people doesn't mean they've gone away, Laurent," Bella said as she took a few steps back. "I'll tell them you've stopped by, but uh… I probably shouldn't tell Edward…" speaking his name nearly made her vomit again. "He's very protective."

"How far away are they?"

"L-like I said, not far," she said. "Why are you here?"

Laurent sighed. "I came as a favor to… Victoria."

Crap. "Victoria?"

Laurent nodded. "She asked me to see if the Cullens were still protecting you. She thinks it's only fair that she gets to kill Edward's mate, given as he has killed hers. An eye for an eye."

The fuck! What do I do now? "E-Edward would know who did it and he'd come after you!" Bella threatened him.

Laurent shook his head. "I don't think he will… you see, you don't smell like him. Nor like the boy you've been hanging around with. You're alone. All alone. He left you, didn't he? You are unprotected and you're free game. Did he dump you, I wonder? Were you too needy? Too clingy? He didn't love you as much as you believed, did he?" Laurent sighed then. "Victoria won't be happy with me killing you, but I can't help myself."

Death or having Forks as her prison? Death was better, wasn't it? "Fine. Kill me. Why would I care?"

"You're going to make it easy for me?" Laurent was close now, his fingers touching her cheek. "That's alright. I promise, you won't feel a thing. It will be quick. Victoria would only make your death last."

Bella closed her eyes and braced for impact, but she hadn't expected Laurent's presence to be taken away from her and when she opened her eyes, he was at the other end of the field and Kol, Rebekah and Myriam were standing in front of her with their backs towards her.

"Draw straws?" Myriam asked. "Oh, wait, we already did! I get to kill him with Rebekah and you can get to explain everything to your new friend, good luck!" she laughed before she and Rebekah ran off, after Laurent, and Bella couldn't believe the speed they were having.

There were a bunch of big wolves running out of the foliage to follow Myriam and Rebekah and Bella wasn't even sure what was going on anymore. "What?"

"Oh, great, ponies," Kol deadpanned before turning around to face Bella. "See, I knew you were in trouble, but Cold One trouble? I had hoped not. Who's that bloke? Not the ex?"

She stumbled back as she kept her eyes on Kol. "What are you? What's... No… I don't even want to know. You should have let him kill me!"

"No. Come on, let me walk you home," he said as he reached out for her arm but she withdrew her arm. "Bella…"

"Leave me alone!" She quickly grabbed her bag and started to walk off, but Kol was following her. "Leave me alone, don't make me say it again!"

"Or what, darling?"

She grunted as she grabbed the pepper spray that Charlie had given her out of her bag. "You'll be sorry!"

He blinked as he kept following her. "I think you may be holding that wrong."

Bella let out a frustrated cry as she looked at it, discovered Kol was right and turned it around. "Stay away from me, Kol. I'll only end up getting hurt more. It's fine if you want to stay in Forks, but you're staying away from me!"

Kol sighed and nodded. "Very well, but allow me to accompany you home. With that Cold One in the area and all that."

"You should have let him kill me!" She huffed as she turned around to keep walking, still holding on to the pepper spray. "Then all of my problems would be gone."

Kol let out a breath and shoved his hands in his pockets to pinch himself whenever he felt the need to make a meal out of Bella. Why had he drawn the shortest straw? Myriam was far more patient than he was! "For you, maybe. But for the rest of Forks? I doubt it. The Volturi will come for your father. Your friends. Perhaps for the entire town."

She let out a snort. "And what? You and your family will take care of the problem? Is that it?"

"We could."

"And what's that going to cost me?" She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around again, holding up her pepper spray. "Another contract? Or maybe you'll take me as your prisoner? No, thanks. Just leave me alone, I've had enough of the supernatural. My problem isn't yours. Thank you for taking care of Laurent, but you shouldn't have done that."

He pinched himself and let out a breath. Patience wasn't his thing. "No contract, and I'm up for a bit of tying up and such but we've just met darling," Kol smiled at her. "We enjoy taking down sparkly things. We're good at dealing with trouble. Just let us do what we do best and your worries will be all gone."

"Again, what will it cost me?"

"Nothing?"

Bella huffed. "Yeah right. I got burned by supernatural beings before, I'm not going to chance it again."

"I promise you, darling, I'm not going to hurt you. My family won't hurt you."

"I've heard that before."

"Just hear me out. You'll be safe around Klaus. He's a werewolf and your Alice Cullen won't be able to see you. You can relax and hear us out. We're not that different, you and I. We have our own fair share of problems and that's the reason why we're in Forks for a while."

"How do you know that name?"

"I'm a vampire. My entire family are vampires. Nik is a hybrid, he's a vampire and a werewolf. Elijah made it a point to look into the family that lived in that house prior to us and he's very thorough with his research," he said gently. "As it turns out, Elijah and Niklaus have encountered the Cullens before, and I knew Alice from the past. I didn't expect her to become a bunny munching moron, but perhaps all the black magic that she did finally went to her head."

She was surprised by the amount of information that Kol was giving her without her asking for it. It was as if he wasn't worried about their secret coming out. "You're not a vampire."

"No?"

"You don't sparkle."

"We're a different kind of vampire. We were created by a witch over a thousand years ago. We drink human blood, not animals. We can live off of animals but it's not… it's gross and makes us weak. However, our bite doesn't kill. We don't have to kill if we don't want to."

"You feel human."

"Because for intents and purposes, we are. We heal, and our blood heals others. During lunch today I put some of my blood in your coffee. How's your foot?"

"I-it's fine… I…"

"Good. Just don't die today or you'll turn into one of us. Not that I'd mind," he winked at her. "Let's get your truck and go to my place. We'll explain more if you want."

"But my dad…"

"He's at the reservation, he's good, I believe he's going fishing tomorrow and he's staying with the Tribal woman he's been seeing," he replied. "Come on, our cook is making some great food tonight."

"You eat regular food?"

"Of course! Why shouldn't we? Sure, we enjoy our blood, but we sure love good food! We used to throw big balls and gatherings back in the day. The more the merrier." Kol was glad that the pepper spray had disappeared into her pocket, he wasn't sure what would have happened if she'd actually used it on him. There was no doubt that he wouldn't have been able to control himself. "I understand that you're not big on trust, but we Mikaelsons are big on our word. I give you my word that we will not do anything to hurt you and I'll take you home after to make sure you're safe."

"I'm not sure."

Kol shrugged. "You're a dead girl walking anyway, what's there to lose? From my point of view, you only have things to gain. Like your life. Your freedom."

Bella let out a breath and threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine."

"Great, let's get your truck!"

~o.O.o~

She felt sick to her stomach as they pulled up to the house. While she had already established that the outside looked different, with most of the windows gone, she still felt as if she could throw up.

Kol helped her out of the truck and smiled. "Don't worry, Myriam did a thorough job remodeling. It's nice and homey on the inside, just how we like it."

"Memories."

"Yes, but this is a new home. I promise. Walls were knocked out, everything got a coat of paint… it looks more like a home than a sterile environment," he explained. "I promise. While Myriam and Elijah love to have things neat, myself, Rebekah and Klaus don't mind the mess much," Kol said as he headed to the door. "Come on, it's not that scary."

"I'm going to enter a house where vampires live."

Kol nodded. "But unlike the Cullens, we don't have secrets and are upfront. Come, you'll be fine."

Bella took a deep breath and followed Kol into the house. The entrance was now an Entrance, there were wood furnishings and it looked very elegant, it was as if she had stepped into a completely new home as Kol had told her. The house warm in temperature too, and she hadn't expected that.

"See? You're going to be fine," he told her as he directed her to the spacious living room. "Look who I brought!"

"Yay!" Myriam cheered as she set Laurent's head on the mantelpiece. "Great choice." Bella just blinked at Laurent's head, causing Myriam to laugh. "I tend to keep some trophies, but if this one's disturbing, I'll put him in a box, gift wrap it and send it off to the Volturi."

"That wouldn't be the first time she'd sent a Cold One back in pieces," someone replied as he walked towards Bella with an extended hand. "Klaus Mikaelson. Myriam, Rebekah and Kol told me all about you, Bella, it's good to see you in person."

Bella shook his hand and then withdrew it to put them back in her pockets. The living room was spacious but cozy. Again the wooden paneling and wooden floors, the couches looked comfortable and it was an entirely different atmosphere than she was used to experiencing in the house.

"Right, you'll be fine without me for a few minutes, right?" Kol asked Bella. "I need to quickly do something but I won't be long, I promise."

Well fuck. She didn't trust Kol, but he'd been honest and her lifeline and now he was going to do something? What? Did he have to? "Yeah, sure."

Myriam took Bella's hand and pulled her towards the couches. "Sit, relax. You had a nice long walk and some excitement. Do you want a stiff drink?"

"Mrs. Mikaelson I'm 17."

"And?" Myriam smiled. "And please, Myriam," she said as she poured some bourbon into a glass and handed it to Bella. "You deserved this one. He could have killed you."

"And that would have been fine."

Myriam looked at Klaus who had a worried look on his face, the same look that she was currently sporting as well. "Bella, there is no need for a death wish, it's going to be alright."

Klaus sat down opposite of Bella and looked at the girl. Had he seen her before? She was terrified. Bella looked as if she was going to bolt any second. "It's alright to be afraid, Bella," he eventually spoke. "When we discovered this house had belonged to a coven of Cold Ones we had hoped that they wouldn't have done any damage to this quaint little town and yet, here you are. You're not damaged, no, perhaps not. You're hurt. You have trust issues. You're angry."

"They fucked me over with the stupid contract. There's no way out."

"Contract?" Myriam blinked as she sat down next to her. "Do you have it with you?"

Bella nodded. "I petitioned the Volturi to claim Forks to myself, exposed what the Cullens had done and they offered me freedom and money, as long as I wouldn't tell anyone," she said as she took the contract out of her bag. "I was worried that they might have tricked me after my day with Kol today so… I reread it again for the millionth time. If I hadn't actually spilled on it with my water bottle, I wouldn't have seen the addition," she said as she handed it to Myriam. "I'm fucked. I'm safe from the Cullens and Volturi in Forks, but Laurent proved that I'm still fair game to others. I can't go anywhere because it makes this contract void. I wanted to travel the world before starting college, but I can't go anywhere."

Myriam quickly thumbed through the contract before handing it to Klaus. "And it's transferable on your family, your future children."

"So yeah, stuck. And that's why I wouldn't mind Laurent killing me. At least it'd be over."

"Not for your dad, or your friends. They'd come for them and likely raise hell here in Forks," Myriam said, echoing Kol's sentiments from before.

"We'll worry about the contract later," Klaus said as he took a sip of his drink. "But if there's anything we're good at, is revenge. We know how you're feeling, Bella, we've been through it many times ourselves. We still have trust issues, our anger, but we're very good at turning that into vengeance." Yes, he knew this girl, and he and his family needed to tread carefully.

"If you have trust issues, then why allow me into your home?"

"There are numerous reasons, but the main one is that Myriam likes to help people hurt by the supernatural community, people like yourself, a victim of the Cold Ones. Or even humans who have been hurt by our kind, our family, even. And another reason is that we really dislike the Cold Ones." And another reason was that she needed their help. This girl had no idea what she was capable of.

"I don't know, I shouldn't make my problem your problem."

"Darling, you're stupidly human," Kol said as he jumped over the couch and sat down next to her. "What are you going to do about the Cold Ones? Pepper spray them to death? That won't work, you know. They'd have broken you in half before you could even reach for it."

"You have a supernatural problem, and we can make it go away," Myriam smiled at her. "And keep you safe in the process."

"But why would you want to do that? I'm just food."

"Oh Bella," Myriam sighed as she pulled the girl against her into a hug. "Those pesky Cullens have really done a number on you, haven't they? Don't worry, we're going to make them pay."

"I'm quite sure that Alice is freaking out about now. Or maybe she already freaked out when you started to hang out with the wolves," Kol grinned.

"Wolves?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"I think you should talk to your friend."

"He won't talk to me because he told me to start living my own life, so you'd better tell me what you know."

Klaus sighed as he looked at his brother, whom merely shrugged a shoulder in response. "I'm sure Kol informed you of what I am. Your friends on the reservation are shape shifters. This particular tribe utilizes the shape of the wolf. Others use other animals. I believe the one in Alaska is a bear. Isn't it, Myriam?" For now, it was important that he acted like he didn't know her, that he hadn't encountered her before. If he would give just a tiny hint, things could go terribly wrong. It was a good thing that he was good at pretending.

"Yep, and they only get activated when there's a surge of vampire activity. Mainly Cold Ones."

Bella stared at the three vampires with a blank expression. "Well fuck me, I thought it were just campfire stories." She then realized something. "Those big wolves were from the rez!"

"And it's quite possible that your friend pushed you away because of it to keep you safe," Kol said with an empathetic smile on his face. "Shifters have a hard time controlling their anger, they could shift without warning and attack."

Sam's wife's face immediately came to her mind and her own paled. "I see. Still, it would have been nice to be able to make an informed decision about being friends with them. Why does everyone feel the need to keep me safe? Don't I get to have a say in _anything_?!"

"Of course. You can tell us how you want us to take your revenge on the Cold Ones," Klaus replied, an amused smile on his lips. "But frankly, I think that they want to keep you safe because you're so deliciously human."

"Or, likely in your friend's case, he truly cares about you," Myriam replied. "In the Cullen's case, it was likely to get you to join them eventually."

"I wanted to be a vampire," Bella admitted softly. "Because I've always felt different. They made it look so effortless on the surface, but when you look deeper… it doesn't seem like being a Cold One is a good life."

"How so?"

"I like warm places. I mean, Forks has grown on me but I prefer the sunshine," she replied. "And while I love being on my own, I think it's a very lonely existence. On top of that, while I love to eat meat, I could never hunt an animal for its blood. It's just…"

"Disgusting," Klaus muttered.

"Cold Ones can feed on humans, but the problem is that the humans die and that can attract a lot of attention," Myriam replied. "But in all honesty, it's pathetic."

"They are pathetic, all they are is a magical accident who think they are special," Klaus said bitter before looking at Bella. "You humans have a name for that, don't you? Snowflake?"

"Seriously?"

"Oh yes, darling, every monster has an origin story, theirs happens to be the result of some ancient witches becoming too greedy," Kol smiled at her before looking back to see Elijah walk in. "And I think that's my other brother coming in to tell us that dinner is served. Don't believe a word he's saying," he whispered.

"You brought her here? Honestly, Niklaus-"

"It wasn't me, Elijah! It was Myriam!"

"And Kol, and Rebekah," Myriam nodded as she got to her feet and smirked at Elijah. "Which means you're outnumbered. Again. So be nice to her, or I'll put you in our box after I castrate you."


	4. Chapter 4

Myriam sat down at the dining table with a set of yard sheers as she glared at Elijah before putting it down right next to her.

"Is Elijah being impossible again?" Rebekah wondered out loud. She had gone for a change of clothes and had sat down next to her older brother. "Don't mind him, Bella, he's great with politics and finding places for us to live, but other than that, he's not really in touch with the world around him."

"That's the second time someone told me about Elijah and can I please just find that out for myself?" Bella asked, slightly frustrated.

"I withdraw my initial assumptions," Elijah said amused. "I like her."

The food on the table looked incredible. There were mashed potatoes, vegetables, fish and roast chicken and some fancy gravy along with it as well.

"Dig in," Kol nodded. "While Elijah tells you the story of how the Cold Ones came to be."

"But I did my research on the Cold Ones," Bella said. "I even asked Carlisle, and we came up empty, how can you know?"

"We have an extensive library on a lot of things, but this knowledge comes from one of Kol's old books," Elijah replied. "There is a now extinct line of witches called the Travelers. They were all about keeping the balance of nature until they were enslaved to help build the pyramids in Egypt. They wanted to become stronger, and faster, so their masters would be happy and they could return to their lives. Or, perhaps, become the new Pharaoh. At the start of the day, they performed a ritual that upset the Deities they prayed to and it got their entire camp killed. But, from the ashes, the laborers rose and their skin was hardened and sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight. And so, by upsetting the balance of nature, the remaining Travelers who had nothing to do with this lost their powers for a while, and the Cold Ones were born."

"Great! That explains why some of them have gifts."

"Or how their gifts are being retained, you see, when a witch turns into a vampire, _our kind_ of vampire, they lose all of their magic, because there needs to be a balance. Some Traveler witches, however, are an exception. There's an offshoot of the Travelers called the Gemini who can have the amazing ability to retain magic but we haven't heard of a sighting of the Heretics for quite some time now."

"Heretics?"

"The Gemini look down on any witch of their coven that has to draw strength from others to perform magic; they're called siphoners," Kol explained. "They regained their magic upon turning and now they can draw from themselves to perform magic. Nasty buggers."

"I heard you had a contract? How did that come to be?" Elijah asked as Klaus went back to the living room to fetch it. "As far as we're aware, they either kill the humans who know about their existence or turn them."

"That is the law, yes," Bella replied with a sigh, not wanting to revisit the whole ordeal in particular. "Do we have to do this?" The food wasn't that appetizing anymore. "I've never told anyone because… it's…"

"I can make an estimated guess," Myriam smiled at her. "Girl meets boy, then controlling family… discovers he's a vampire… family starts controlling girl…"

"Boy dumps girl in the woods for her own safety as the family moves away, girl goes through withdrawal symptoms, then gets a phone call from family that boy is in trouble…" Bella added softly. "And I was so stupid enough to head to Italy to 'save' him, even though it was one giant ruse to get me back, which I didn't understand, they left. He dumped me. They all hurt me," she added bitterly. "And I got only in trouble with the Nomads because of them. They killed James, so Victoria sent Laurent. Now that he's dead, she'll likely come for me herself."

"The issue of the contract can be resolved in many ways," Elijah said as he read through it. "The simplest solution is to become a supernatural being yourself. I'm sure one of us wouldn't mind helping you turn."

"What!" Bella squeaked. "No?! How…. how can you be so careless with the life of humans?"

"You would be a vampire, you'd live longer," Elijah replied, shrugging. "We don't offer this to a lot of people, but I suppose you're a special case."

"How about no?" Okay, so Elijah was dick-ish.

"Another solution would be to see if you're supernatural yourself," Kol saw the death glare that Bella was giving his brother and he was amused. "You see, darling, we can't compel you. That usually means you're a witch."

"Compel?"

"We can usually tell people what to do or to feel by telling them. It's a great interrogation tool or to stave off boredom, but your mind is closed to it."

She nearly choked on her food as she put down her fork. "I'm in a room filled with mind-rapers? Like Jasper and Edward?!"

"It's not like that…"

"Well to me, it sounds that way!" Bella rose to her feet and started to collect her things. "Thank you for offering to help me, but I think I'll take my chances. This was a bad idea," she said as she felt her heart beat so fast that she'd think it'd jump out of her chest cavity. "I-I won't tell anyone about you, I promise, but I can't do this. Not anymore."

"Bella, you don't have to be afraid, please, don't go," Rebekah said as she quickly followed her. "I promise, we're not like them at all."

"Stay away from me," Bella said as she ran towards the door and quickly got into her car. As she drove off, she could see Rebekah stand in the door with a sad expression on her face, but Bella needed to get away. The Mikaelsons were just another coven of vampires who liked to play with humans and she'd get even deeper into trouble. She was going to be fine. They just had to stay away from her. She was going to fix this. And if not, well then at least she could die with the knowledge of having tried.

Victoria was still coming for her. The Volturi wanted her to turn or to die.

Easy as that. If she died, they'd leave her dad alone and Victoria would back off too.

Then why was it so hard not to just speed and wrap her truck around a tree?

Because she wasn't ready.

She parked her truck in the driveway and locked the house in her Charlie's absence and went to her room. It was time to get ready. Make piles of what to keep and to throw away. Or giveaway. She was stuck. Prisoner. A Dead Girl Walking. Best to get it all over with.

Bella'd been sorting through her stuff for maybe half an hour when she heard someone throwing stones against her window. Confused, she looked out the window and saw Jake standing at the bottom. "What do you want?" Why was he shirtless? It was night time and it was cold, where was his shirt? Coat?

"Can we talk?"

"I've already locked the house."

"Not a problem. Scoot," he smiled up at her before climbing up the house and climbing through her window. "Tadaa."

"Do you really like to display your athleticism all the time? Because it does get a bit annoying."

"How are you doing, Bella?" He asked as he looked around her room. "Redecorating?"

"Something like that," she said as she sat down on her bed. "What do you want, Jake? You made it perfectly clear that you needed some space and yet, here you are not even a week later."

He started to walk to her and Bella quickly grabbed a pillow. "Look, I'm sorry," he said as he got too close for comfort and she pushed him away with her pillow. "I wish I could explain, but I really… really can't. Have you ever had a secret that you couldn't tell anyone? One that wasn't yours to share?"

"Jake, it's been a long day… I'm really not in the mood for this."

"Well, that's what it's like for me. But worse," he said as he sat down next to her on the bed. "You have no idea how tight I'm bound."

Bella sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and leaned into him. "I hate this. I thought we could tell each other everything and here you are, keeping secrets from me. Pushing me away."

"You know what hurts the most? You already know what I'm keeping from you. Don't you remember the stories from the campfire?"

She playfully hit him on the head. "So why are you shirtless? Does it make it easier to turn into a pony-sized wolf? Where does your pants go?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I know, Jake. I had to hear it from someone else but you, and that hurt. And who are you to decide whether or not things are safe around you while you go through this? You shouldn't be alone!"

"I could hurt you."

"Yeah, and I could hurt myself by just tripping over my feet!" She hit him again with her pillow. "It's only because you're stronger than me that you're doing this, but you pushed me away, Jake, and I'm lost."

"I feel that way too… I mean, I should have never…"

"Then don't." Oh, what was she doing? It wasn't going to matter anyway. She was going to be dead soon.

He gently took her arm and ran his thumb across the Cold One scar. "Come to the rez after school tomorrow? Spend the weekend?"

She sighed as she covered her scar with her hand. "Yeah, sure."

"And then tell me the truth about that scar?" He looked at her with a hopeful look on his face. "Because I think you got that scar off of a vampire, didn't you?"

Bella let out a breath. "It's in the past, it doesn't matter anymore. They're gone."

Jake was disappointed to hear that. "Okay, so, tomorrow after school, straight to the rez, and don't invite anyone into your home, especially the new people in town, okay?"

"I wasn't planning to…" Bella muttered.

"I have to go," he planted a kiss on her forehead and walked back to the window. "Promise me you'll come tomorrow."

Bella nodded before she watched him jump out of her window again. She walked over to it to close it and fell onto her bed. She was so tired. So fucking tired. What harm could one more weekend do? Maybe she'd get hurt by one of the wolves, it'd be easier to die then.

Kol wasn't in school the next day, and Rebekah and Myriam kept their distance from her as she sat with Jessica and Angela, but Bella wasn't entirely there. Jessica recognized the signs and tried to get Bella to talk, to open up but Bella couldn't be bothered.

After school, she headed to the reservation and while Jake wasn't home yet, she greeted Billy and headed to Jake's room to lay down on his bed. It was nice and quiet on the rez, Bella liked that. She could be with her own thoughts and switch off. Decompress. She wasn't even sure if she should be there. Jake was someone she'd known for most of her life and he was a wolf now. One that should have killed Cold Ones and didn't.

One that killed a Cold One with help from non-Cold One vampires.

She shouldn't be here. Things could never go back the way they were, she knew too much. She was an idiot human who knew too much about the supernatural community, now at least three factions of them and that was wrong. She was far better off going back home, continue what she was doing and just leave.

Walking out of Jake's bedroom, she waved Billy goodbye and headed outside, blinking when she saw Paul and Sam trying to take her truck apart without damaging it. "I kinda need that truck, put it back together."

Paul grinned at her. "Sorry, vampire girl, it's Jake's orders."

"Then give me his bike, I want to go home."

"Nope."

"And since when do you listen to Jake anyway?"

"Since he's our Alpha? It's his birthright. It just took him a little longer to grow into it," Sam replied with a shrug. "You're not going anywhere this weekend, Bella."

Bella scowled as she got her bag from the bed of her truck and started to walk. She wasn't even walking for ten minutes when Jake caught up with her. "Hey, what's up? Where are you going?"

"Home."

"What? Why?" Jake gently pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. "You always spend the weekend here."

"Until last weekend, when you pushed me away. Then yesterday you wanted me to come back? Y-you're saying that you can't promise me that I'll be safe and yet you wanted me to come to keep me safe? What kind of nonsense is that?" she tried to push herself away from him but he had his arms tightly wound around her. "Let me go, Jake."

"Give me another reason."

She took a deep breath as she looked up at him. "I'm done. Your world? Is not mine. I have enough trouble with vampires as it is, and I want out."

"You got yourself into this mess."

"Yeah, I know, and neither you or the new vampires in town have anything to do with that. Leave me alone, this is my mess."

"Bella."

"What!" she pushed against him again. "You want another reason? _YOU_ didn't tell me yourself what you were. No, you had a vague excuse of being interested in another girl and you said I needed to be on my own as we'd grown to be like Siamese twins!"

"Well, you didn't tell me everything about the Cullens, either!" Jake said as he let go of her. "You're telling me to tell you the truth while you never told me about them. About the Cold Ones and what they were doing with you. To you. What they've done to you!"

"Because it's a fucking secret they even exist!"

"So are we!" Jake countered. "But now that you know, that we know, why won't you come back, huh? It's a lot easier to be out in the open around you now. Everything's going to be alright, Bella."

"No, it's not," Bella said sadly as she looked down at her shoes. "I'm not free of the Cold Ones. I won't ever be free of the Cold Ones. Either I turn, or they kill me. I can't travel more than 2 hours out of Forks because they'll get me. There's a psychotic vampire after me because the Cullens killed her mate after he attacked me. Eye for an eye and all that. The new vampires in town aren't Cold Ones, they're different. More human. And guess what? Just my luck that I fell right into their lap, too. I'm a fucking magnet and it needs to end."

"What you need, is to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get shitfaced," he put an arm around her and guided her back towards the reservation. "We were going to hang out at Emily's tonight with the rest of the pack. Just to have some fun, shoot the breeze and forget."

"I can barely keep it together, Jake. If I get drunk-"

"Then you'll cry, who cares? Come on, good food and alcohol and semi-adult supervision, but they're just like us. No more secrets."

Bella kept quiet for most of the night as she helped herself to the snacks made by Emily and drank all the beer that was being handed to her as they were gathered around the campfire. She suddenly had a blanket wrapped around her and she was leaning into Jake as everyone was having fun. She didn't care. She was drunk off her ass and loving the buzz.

"So, what are we going to do about the new vampires in town?" Sam asked Jake. "What do we know about them?"

Jake shrugged. "They've seem to be assimilating themselves into our community in a much more subtle way than the Cullens ever did. Three of them were at Bella's school. The same three who we had to fight with for the Cold One that was threatening Bella."

"How many are there, anyway?"

"I don't know, Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"You've been to the new vampires, haven't you? How many are there?"

"Uhh…" Bella took a sip of her beer and thought hard. "Five," she eventually said. "I love what they did to the house, though. It looks a lot more like a home instead of a sterile environment with reminders of their longevity. No freaky graduation caps as an artwork. And they have a cook to make them food."

"They eat normal food?" Sam blinked. "Are you sure?"

Bella nodded so hard that she felt like she was a bobblehead. "And they can feed on humans without killing them."

"So they're not a threat?"

Bella shrugged as she took another sip of her beer. "The teacher is a good one, she really knows what she's talking about when teaching a class. I think they're here to get away from the rest of the world for a while. I don't know."

"How much of a threat are they?"

"I don't know, Sam!" Bella shot at him, nearly dropping her bottle of beer. "I think you should be more worried about the Cold Ones. Victoria won't stop until I'm dead. The Volturi will kill me too, or perhaps turn me if they get their hands on me. The Mikaelsons saved me from Laurent, I think they're alright unless you piss them off."

Jake pulled Bella closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "Do you think they'll be open for a meeting?"

"Likely. But I'm staying out of it," she said as she took another swig of the beer. "And that's the last of what I'm going to say, I'll go back to drinking."


	5. Chapter 5

Bella woke up the following morning with the hangover from hell, but managed to take a shower and get dressed before heading to Emily's. Emily had a fresh pot of coffee ready and she was cleaning the table from breakfast. "The boys already had their breakfast, they'll be back in a few hours. Do you want something?"

"I could make it myself, really."

"Nonsense, you look like a truck has hit you," Emily chuckled as she poured Bella a coffee and lead her to one of the kitchen chairs. "Sit, wake up, I'll make you some greasy breakfast."

"Thanks… how bad did I get yesterday?"

"You don't remember?"

Bella shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee, regretting instantly that she had shaken her head, the midgets had awoken.

"You passed out, it was adorable."

It was better than bursting out in tears and getting all emotional. Score. Jake didn't have to know that she had plans to end it all. "That's good."

Emily gently squeezed Bella's shoulder. "You're not alone, Bella. I don't know what happened with Jake for him to come clean with you and invite you over, but it's a good thing that he did. I like hanging out with you."

"I like hanging out with you too," Bella smiled at her.

"You know, you could just move to the rez with your dad, seeing as he's seeing Sue anyway."

Bella barked out a laugh. "Nah, I think that's the worst idea. I love you guys, and I'm sure dad does as well, but I'm going to be leaving Forks after I graduate. Why move? Besides, last week Jake didn't want me anywhere close, who's to say that won't happen again? It's difficult to give him his space if I'd be here all the time."

Emily shrugged as she put the plate down in front of Bella. "Fried eggs with bacon and a lot of butter on that bread, eat up. I believe the boys have stuff planned for the rest of the day when they come back."

"Where are they?"

"To see if you were right and if the Mikaelsons want to have a chat to make sure they behave or face the consequences."

"Which are?"

"Big puppies chowing down on vampire bones," Emily winked at her. "I'm sure they're tastier than Cold Ones."

"Likely… these vampires bleed real blood, apparently."

"Really?"

Bella nodded. "I got frustrated the other day and kicked my truck. Broke something in my foot but the doctor couldn't do anything about it. One of them confessed that he had put some of his blood in my drink when we went to Port Angeles two days ago and he confessed that their blood heals people," she explained. "It's freaky, but my foot feels normal again."

"Wow, that's new."

"However, that also came with a warning, if I'd die with his blood in my body I'd come back as one of them."

"Well, it takes a few days for the blood to pass through your system so you should be fine, but you're not thinking about doing some crazy and scary stuff to yourself, are you?"

"Of course not," Bella lied. "I couldn't leave Charlie by himself."

"Good," Emily smiled. "Eat your breakfast, you're going to need the energy. Hungover or not, those boys will take you out today."

~o.O.o~

Bella wasn't sure how she felt after the weekend on the Rez, but she went back to school that Monday. And went back to the Rez on the weekend. She did that for a couple of weeks before setting off to Port Angeles by herself to buy Christmas presents. She knew it was far too early for Christmas presents, they weren't even in November yet, but she wanted to have them. In time. In case.

Her birthday quietly passed by, as she preferred it to do. Charlie did manage to arrange some fancier food than usual for dinner, but she liked it to be nice and quiet. Jake, once again, gave her something she could hang in her room.

Thanksgiving was spent with Sue and Billy and Jacob at the reservation. Bella and her father stayed the weekend and then went home. The idea of ending it all became less and less, she was having fun again, and usually looked forward to the weekends at the rez with Jake and the rest of the wolves, just hanging out. Even in the cold weather, they always made sure she was warm and toasty.

It was the last Friday before Christmas break and when she walked to her truck, she was stopped by Kol who was carrying a gift bag. "I know, I know, you don't want anything to do with me or my family and I've been keeping my distance, but please, hear me out? Just one minute?"

"I need to get home."

"One minute, Bella, please."

She threw her bag into the truck and looked at him. "One minute," she agreed with a slight nod.

"Alright. So, even though you want us to leave you alone, which we have, we wanted to give you this," he said as he handed her the gift bag. "Our family loves Christmas and each one of us have put something in there for you. We wanted you to have it because you deserve it. We're not your enemy, Bella. Nor are we anything like _them_. I hope that with this little gift, it'll show you that."

"Kol… I-"

"Take it, please," he smiled at her as he put his hands in his pocket. "And have a great Christmas holiday. Rebekah and Elijah are going to France for a couple of days after Christmas and Nik, Myriam and I will be staying here. Myriam spotted something online about deep-frying a turkey so we're going to attempt that while Elijah's away. Not as our Christmas dinner, of course, but after. You're more than welcome to join?"

"Uh, no, thanks," she said softly with a blush. "I didn't get you anything. But I will! I'll get someone to drop it off for you."

"Oh, no, darling, it's alright," he smiled widely as he opened the door to her truck for her.

"Just as a precaution… tell Myriam not to fry the turkey close to the house? It can get a bit… temperamental."

"We'll be fine, we're vampires, we heal even if we burn," Kol grinned as he helped her inside her truck. "Merry Christmas, Bella, I'll see you after the holiday."

She had to admit, as she was carefully driving home through the snow, that the Mikaelsons were doing every attempt on being human. She could even see that with Myriam when she was teaching history. They weren't perfect, just like humans.

Charlie was still at work so Bella stopped by the supermarket to get everything they needed over the weekend and made sure there was plenty of beer in case Billy would drop by. She then continued home and started on making dinner after turning up the heat.

As their meal was cooking in the oven, a nice big and extra rich lasagna, she decided to look into the gift bag that Kol had given her. All items were individually wrapped by someone with no patience and it was easy to get it unwrapped.

The first present was a gift from Klaus. A drawing of a beautiful swan, surrounded by light in a dark place, but there was also a hint of light after the darkness and she had to admit that it was exactly how she felt. She was currently content in her own bubble with Jake and their friends, but even that couldn't hold the Cold Ones, the darkness, at bay. But once she'd have defeated them, or when they'd killed her, there would be light.

The second present was from Rebekah, a gorgeous charm bracelet with room for more charms to be added. Bella found the can of pepper spray on the bracelet hilarious.

The third was a gift from Myriam. It was a very old book, and upon closer inspection it was more of a journal from the early days of Klaus' family as a vampire, memories of when they were still human. The book was ancient and most of the words faded, but it was history. The history of the Mikaelsons. Myriam had even put a note with it that she stole the book from Elijah and that it would be their secret. And also how near the end of the journal her own story was told.

The fourth gift was from Elijah. It was a gift card to use at various retailers online and Bella thought that was practical, and liked the idea for that.

The fifth and final gift was from Kol. It was more of a letter with something attached. _Dear Bella, I wasn't sure what to get you for Christmas other than maybe a satchel of herbal tea - which is quite boring. But then I realized that I could give you one of my favourite Christmas traditions that we do almost every year, even when we still were humans. It's tradition for us to write down wishes for someone or ourselves on a piece of paper and burn them in a fire. So attached to this you'll find my wish for this year and a blank piece of paper to write down your own. Burn them for me? Merry Christmas, Kol."_

She looked at the little note that Kol had written his wish on. _I wish to be more in control over my emotions so that I could be normal. And since I missed a few wishes, I'm going to be incredibly selfish and wish that Bella and I could be friends without her fearing for what I am._

Bella stared at the note for a while before quickly pushing it into her pocket and everything back in the bag as Charlie came home. The gifts, and Kol's wish, were just other proof that the Mikaelsons weren't the Cullens. The gifts were thoughtful and personal. They were closer to being a human than even humans themselves.

Bella handed Charlie his beer and asked him about his day as she continued to make the side salad for the lasagna. "I'm on call on Boxing Day, Bells, but for Christmas I'm all yours."

"Great, so stupid Christmas movies and a ton of snacks?"

"You bet," Charlie laughed. "You and me, kiddo. There's no doubt that next year, you'll be too busy with college to come and visit your old man, so I'm taking all the time I can get."

"Aw, you're getting sappy in your old age, dad."

"Unless you've made plans?"

"No," she smiled as she finished her side salad and put it down on the table and then retrieved the lasagna. "I think it's perfect. Just you and me."

~o.O.o~

Bella felt lucky that her dad was still at home for Boxing Day. Then again, it was Forks. Nothing really happened in Forks. However, during dinner, he got the call. Something was on fire.

"What's on fire?" Bella asked as she watched her dad grab everything he needed.

"The uh… old Cullen house."

Bella let out a groan as she got into her boots and pulled on her coat before quickly running upstairs to fetch something. "I'm coming with you."

"Bells, it's a fire."

"Yeah, I know. And I know what caused it too, they tried to deep fry a turkey."

"Yeah, how do you know?" Charlie laughed.

Bella shrugged. "Two of the kids are at school with me, one of them is a teacher."

"Oh, so you know the Mikaelsons."

"Somewhat," she said as she closed the door behind her and followed her father. "Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble. I know the drill."

Charlie sighed and nodded. "Get in. If you knew what they were going to do, why didn't you tell them to do it further away from the house?"

"I did!"

He grunted as he drove the car off the driveway. "Why don't people listen?"

"They're likely city folk, dad."

"Even worse!"

When they arrived at the house, half of the house was engulfed in flames and the firemen just stood there, watching. "Why aren't you putting it out?" Charlie asked the fire marshall.

"We don't have enough water and there's no source of water close by that our lines can reach," he replied. "Some of my men are bringing out valuables but that's all we can do."

Bella looked over to where she heard arguing and headed over.

"Myriam! You don't understand, Elijah's going to be mad!" Klaus ranted at his wife, his hand buried in his hair. "And for fuck's sake, why can't I just run in and save my paintings myself? We'll just compel them all to forget! Why did I agree to this?"

"We weren't going to compel anyone, Nik."

Klaus let out a growl and pushed his younger brother against the nearest tree. "Don't even think for a minute that you're scot-free, Kol. I know that you egged her on to do this. The coffins might be burning right now, but I do have a dagger on me!"

"It wasn't me, honest!" he defended himself as he pushed his brother off of him. "But go ahead, Nik, blame me for everything. If that makes you feel better!"

"Hey!" Bella called out. "Are you done?" It was cold outside, despite her thick coat and her boots, but then again, the massive fire made the snow melt and warmed her a little. She just had to stay away from the fire so she wouldn't get burned.

"Not even close!" Klaus blurted as he slammed his brother against the tree again, causing the tree to move on impact.

"Nik, it wasn't me," Kol said, honestly.

"Liar! Only you would think of something this… absurd!"

Bella looked at Myriam. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"Why would I? I like it when my husband is angry," Myriam replied, her eyes not leaving Klaus' angry form. "So sexy."

"Because you know, I was told this was all your idea, Myriam," Bella replied and jumped back when Myriam stiffened upon realizing that Klaus was coming for her now. "Kol didn't do anything but go along with your crazy idea. But hey, for what it's worth, the town will never doubt you're not human again. Like ever."

"What are you even doing here, Bella?"

"My dad is the Sheriff. I didn't want to be alone, so I came along," she replied as she looked at Klaus. "Are you going to let him go, or what?"

"Bella, don't provoke him, darling," Kol warned her. "It'll only make things worse."

"Why? He'll kill me? He can go right ahead," she shrugged as she pushed her hands into her pockets. "Ever thought of getting your own home, Kol? I wouldn't want to live with a bully, why should you?"

Myriam realized that Bella wasn't going to give up. "Bella's right, it was my idea," Myriam admitted. "Stop bullying your brother, you can punish me later." The moment Klaus let go of Kol she was in his arms. "Yes, punish me, please. It'll be so much fun…" she purred.

"Love, if you want me to punish you, all you need to do is tell me and not set the bloody house on fire!" Klaus growled. "Where are we going to stay now?"

"You are absolutely insane," Kol said as he lead Bella away from his brother and his wife. "Why did you do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"He could have killed you."

Bella shrugged. "This wasn't your idea, so I told him, what's the problem in that?" She then retrieved Kol's wish out of her pocket with a smile. "Besides, I wanted you to burn this yourself, you now have a big house that's on fire."

He looked at her, looked at the note and back at her. "I told you to burn that for me."

"Yeah, but Charlie and I don't do Christmas fires," she replied with a nod towards the house fire. "You guys apparently do."

"Funny."

"I'd like to think so," Bella replied smugly. "You have to find humor in all scenarios, don't you?"

Kol took his note from her fingers. "Did you read it?"

"I did," she said as she took her note out of her pocket. "Want to read mine?"

"Sure," he smiled at her, happy that she trusted him with that, like he trusted his with her. _I wish I could trust everyone around me again without any fear of what might happen._ "Oh, darling," he sighed as he felt his heart break a little. "Give it time, you will."

"Yeah, I might," Bella smiled at him. "I'm doing a lot better than I was in September."

"I'm sorry that I-"

"Not you, completely me. I responded to you like I should have done to the Cullens and that was wrong of me, because you're not them. I… I should have kept an open mind and not let my fear rule my brain," she then let out a snort. "I spend my weekends with boys who can lose their temper and hurt me and I trust them not to, if I can do it with them, I should be fine with you."

"You're a curious little thing, aren't you?" Kol smiled at her as he took both of her hands with the notes being held by the two of them.

"Maybe," she replied, her hands warming up in his and she let out a breath. "I just wish I could go back in time to stop you from doing the turkey frying so close to the house, it's not fair to lose your house during the holidays."

"Ah, we've been through wo-" he blinked when Bella started to glow slightly. "What's going on?" Kol could feel magic in the air, almost as if it was electricity and all of a sudden she wasn't holding his hands anymore. In fact, she was gone. "Nik!"


	6. Chapter 6

Bella found herself on the same spot, but Kol wasn't in front of her, no, instead, Kol was more to the side with Myriam filling some barrel and it was too close to the house. The house. The house wasn't burning. It was all in tact and nothing had changed.

Nothing, except for the fact that there weren't flames and Kol wasn't standing in front of her.

What was going on?

Oh, she felt unsettled, dizzy and confused, but maybe she should take this opportunity to warn them. Again. Because there was no doubt in her mind that Kol hadn't given her warning to Myriam. Slowly walking over, she pushed her hands in her pockets. "Uh, hey guys!"

"Bella?" Kol looked at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Wishing you a Merry Christmas," she smiled at him. "And to make sure you're not going to fry that turkey so close to the house. I think in the middle of the garden should do the trick."

"It'll be fine, darling," he replied as he made his way over to her. "Did you look at the gifts?"

"Yes, but that's not why I'm here, I'll thank you for that later," she insisted as she pointed at the barrel. "That needs to go away from the house or the house will burn, Klaus will try to kill you and then Myriam and Klaus will want to find themselves a room but that will be impossible as the firefighters can't extinguish the fire because there's no water source close by for them to use."

Myriam continued to drag the barrel over to Bella's assigned spot. "Are you sure about this, Bella?"

"Oh, I'm very sure."

"Okay, we'll move it, no worries. Are you staying to watch us do this?"

Bella let out a snort. "This is your project. Your little science project. I already know that it can go wrong in many ways. It won't even be that tasty when coming out, nothing beats the oven." She then touched Kol's arm and smiled. "Thank you, you eased my mind about having you guys do this safely. I'll stop by in a few hours to talk, okay?"

"Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded before she felt the same sensation as she felt just minutes ago and quickly hurried out of sight as she felt the magic take her back to where she had left. She collapsed to the ground upon impact and was relieved to see the house still in one piece. The pungent smell of oil and burnt turkey settling in her nostrils.

Had she truly travelled in time and changed the outcome of the turkey fry?

She got to her feet and stumbled against the house before rounding it again. Kol and Myriam were standing around the barrel and Klaus was nowhere to be found. She leaned against the back of the house with a big smile on her face. "Kol, I did it!"

Kol's head snapped to Bella and something was off, but he made his way over to her anyway. "Yes, you left and came back, just like you said. You missed us lowering the turkey."

"That's alright," Bella smiled, tired all of a sudden. "At least I saved your house from going up in flames."

"But you did."

"Yes, but I saw the house on fire. I was here. With my dad and the fire department. We were talking about our wishes, I had you read mine and then I wanted to prevent the fire from happening and…" she saw the look on his face. "I sound like a crazy person."

"Yes, you do," he said as he put an arm around her. "But you look like you could pass out any second so I think there's some truth in there. Come, let's get you inside, darling."

"I'm a bit lightheaded," she admitted, leaning into him with a sigh. Oh, that felt good.

He lifted her up and walked into the house with her. He gently sat her down on the couch and helped her out of her coat before wrapping a blanket around her and poured her a drink. "So, you saw the house on fire?"

"I was here. The house was on fire. My dad and I were lounging on the couch at home when he got the call and I came along because I didn't want to be alone," Bella said as she looked at him. "I know it's stupid because the house is fine now, but you didn't tell Myriam that the barrel needed to be away from the house like I told you, because you thought it was fine."

"But you came here this afternoon to scold us and we moved it."

"That wasn't this afternoon. That was five minutes ago," she said as she took a sip of her drink and was surprised to find that it was in fact alcohol. Not caring, she took another sip. "I grabbed a hold of you and I said that I wished that I could have done something to prevent your house from burning and I was… I don't know… I found myself in the same place in the garden, found you and Myriam fooling around with the barrel… and I warned you. And then I came back. I swear, I'm not crazy."

"Darling, I believe you, but for the life of me I can't be sure what you are. I've never come across a witch that could travel in time."

"I have," Klaus said as he walked in with a book in his hands. "She was one of a kind."

"When was that?" Myriam walked in after him after she had seen Kol carry Bella into the house. "You never told me that."

"I was told not to," Klaus replied as he sat down in a chair close to Bella. "Time travel is a fickle thing, change one thing in the past, and it could have major consequences. For instance, you could alter the course of history and the Nazi's could be back in charge. Or your grandparents would never meet and thus, you would cease to exist."

"But time travel is not possible," Kol and Bella chorused.

"But you just did, Bella," Klaus pointed out. "You witnessed this house on fire because of a mistake my wife and my brother made, and you traveled back to warn them."

"Unintentionally."

"And thus, time travel is possible. Unintentional or not," Klaus smiled at her. "You might want to finish that drink and get Kol to refill it for you, because what I'm about to tell you might… what's the phrase you use these days? Knock you off your socks?"

Bella did as she was told and Kol refilled her glass for her. "Thanks," she smiled at him.

"The witch I encountered… was you."

"What?"

Klaus nodded. "You… she… traveled back in time to give me this information, about yourself. She knew that messing with time was something she shouldn't do, but she was determined to meddle with your future because she didn't look so well," he explained as he handed her the book and opened it to the pages she needed to see. There was a drawing of an older Bella attached to it, no doubt drawn by Klaus.

"Wow, I looked like that?"

"You looked quite out of sorts, yes," he replied, gesturing to the book. "You'll recognize your own handwriting in that book. Please read that."

Bella let out a breath and shifted so that Kol could see it too. _Hi Bella, it's me… you. Bella. Sorry. Joke. Breathe, relax, everything is going to be fine. _

_Instead of you having to spend years of finding out who or what you are, I'm writing this to tell you now. Trust me, it's for the best. I'm not going to say anything that might do harm to your… our future. Apart from this._

_Remember how they told you that the Cold Ones were created by accident by a group of witches called the Travelers? Here's another fun fact; most of modern society is related to at least one Traveler? Not the Mikaelsons, of course, but people like… Charlie. He's nowhere near related to the Travelers who turned into Cold Ones, but from a different line that's more related to everyone the Mikaelsons have dealt with in the past._

_So, almost everyone has dormant witch genes. The Travelers - and their counterparts the Gemini - are long gone or in hiding, never being allowed to stay in one place for too long and you come from such a watered down line that it doesn't even matter. _

_Until magic is being put in the mix._

_You see, you were bitten by James. Fuckward never managed to get all the venom out, so it stayed in your body. It didn't do anything for years, not until Kol used his blood to heal our foot. Give it a few more weeks to permeate, your 18th birthday… some well-intended thoughts… _

_Congrats, you're a witch!_

_What kind of witch? Well… That was a tricky one to figure out. You can travel in time, yes. And you can do some spells. Only when you supercharge yourself by touching or holding a powerful object or person. _

_Don't worry, it's okay to be a siphoner._

_That way, we can't get in over our heads and feel overpowered. _

_So, this is your way out from the Volturi and the Cold Ones. Have fun. Be responsible. And read the rules that I'll write out below this._

_Bella._

_P.s: Kol is an amazing teacher. Let him teach you. Don't be afraid, you're kickass!_

Bella just stared at the pages in disbelief. Well, not disbelief, because this was her handwriting and yes, Klaus had drawn her, but what the hell? "You roofied me."

"I can assure you, the only buzz that you're feeling right now is that of the alcohol, but your words are true, Bella," Klaus replied kindly. "You felt the need to give yourself a crash course, so you can blame your future self when you encounter her. She didn't tell me why, nor did I ask, because she made it clear that too much knowledge could have altered the future."

"But if she was so worried about altering the future, then why tell me now?!"

"Likely because with you knowing now, things will turn out better," Klaus replied. "Time travel… it's unheard of. It's science fiction. Or at least, that's what we believed. But here you are."

"Or maybe she wants to prevent you from doing something stupid," Kol said as he shifted so he could look at her. "We all know that you haven't been in the right frame of mind lately."

She let out a snort. "I'm fine. If this is all real then I have to start thinking about the future, I guess," Bella replied before quietly finishing her drink and got to her feet. "Uh… thank you for the information, but I'd uh… better get home. Charlie must be worried that I suddenly seemed to have disappeared."

"Yeah, sure, I'll drive you home," Kol said with a nod. "Then I can compel him if needed."

"No, I'll be fine, thanks," she smiled at him before nodding to Klaus and Myriam. "Again, thank you. Have a good night. Don't set anything else on fire."

"I'll drive you home," Kol said again as he followed her to the door. "It's a long walk. No discussion."

Bella sighed as she stepped down the steps to the house. "Fine, but only because I'm pooped, I'd be fine walking home on my own otherwise."

"Of course you would," Kol replied as he helped her in his car and got in himself before setting off. The car was quiet until he turned onto the normal road. "It must be strange for you right now, to discover you're a witch."

"Yeah," Bella let out a snort. "But I'm safe, right? I mean, I can't do things by myself?"

"Don't worry, you're safe," he nodded. "Just don't get angry or wish for things when you're around your shifter friends and one is touching you. You might accidentally hurt someone or set one of the houses on fire."

"Seriously?" She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Set a house on fire? You mean like you and Myriam did?"

"We didn't."

"No, because I fucking saved your ass."

"And discovered you're a witch," he pointed out. "And while you'll likely be fine, I think we should help you with getting it under control."

"Why? As long as I don't touch one of you or one of the shifters, I'll be fine."

He had to admit, he was slightly disappointed with this sentiment, but he could understand her reasoning. All she wanted was to be normal and to be left alone. "You really think that?"

"Yep."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, darling, but there are magical objects in this world. Ordinary looking objects. They've been created by witches and the contain magic. Your toaster could be magical, for example."

"Don't be stupid."

"I'm not!" Kol laughed as he kept his eyes on the road. "I used to make those kinds of items, and some witches know how to make them as well. You never know whether an object is magical or not."

It wasn't the stupidest thing she'd heard today. "Fine… I won't touch anything."

"Or, we could have daily sessions on you trying to get control over your power. We could explore what you can do," he replied. "And when you're in control over your power, you'll be safe to touch whoever or whatever you want to."

"And until then?"

"I'd suggest staying clear of the pups."

"You're just saying that because you don't like them. They're my friends."

"Nah, darling, I don't care much about shapeshifters or wolves. Do I need to remind you that my brother is half of those things?" He said as he turned the corner to her street. "I'm more worried about someone seriously getting hurt, and it won't be you."

"With what! All I can do is travel a bit back in time."

"That we know of," he pointed out. "Better safe than sorry, darling. I know you like your friends, so it's best to stay clear of them. Your boyfriend might not like it, but you'll have to keep him at bay."

"My what?" Bella laughed. "Boyfriend? Who? Jake? Are you kidding me? He's my best friend. I could never…. No! I could never see him as… oh, that's gross." She visibly shuddered at the thought. "No, I told you. No more boys for me. I'm cursed."

Oh good, Jake wasn't her boyfriend. "You're not cursed, darling. You're blessed. Your future is a lot different now than you'd thought this morning, you can start anew, do whatever you want."

"IF I get it under control."

"When. Not if. I have all the faith in the world for you that you'll get it under control. It's a matter of when," Kol said as he parked his car in front of the house. "And if I were you, I'd keep this to yourself too. Don't tell the pups just yet. Wait until you've got it under control and until you've gone to Volterra."

"What?"

"Well, you have to go there in person to show the Volturi that you're a supernatural being. They might get an inkling when you start killing the Cold Ones after you but you know, common courtesy and all."

"Great. Let's add that to the list. Get a job," she sighed as she got out of the car. "Thanks for dropping me off."

"I'll pick you back up tomorrow, let's take advantage of the fact that school's not due to start in another week!"

"But…"

"Don't worry, I'll make it fun," he grinned. "Have fun, Bella, I see you tomorrow."

Bella watched Kol drive away and then headed inside the house. "Hey! I'm back!" When she didn't get a response, she headed into the kitchen and found a note from her father.

_I'm at the Rez. Join us when you want to._

"Yeah, no," Bella sighed as she poured herself a glass of water and headed upstairs to get a nice hot bath, and then hopefully sleep and wake up to think this was all a dream. People didn't become supernatural overnight, did they? There was no way that she traveled in time and saved a house from burning. No freaking way.

~o.O.o~

She woke up the next morning by the sound of ticking. Shaking the fog out of her head, she realized someone was throwing stones against her window and after stumbling to the window, she looked who it was.

Below the window stood Kol, a big smile on his face. "Good afternoon! I'm here to pick you up!"

"What?" Bella blinked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Afternoon?"

"Don't tell me you've just woken up."

"I have…"

Kol huffed. "I'll wait for you outside, just hurry up."

"You could just-"

"Don't say it," he interrupted her. "Don't invite a vampire like me into your home without fully trusting us. Without invitation, neither me or my family can enter your home."

"So you don't want to?"

"Only when you're ready."

Bella sighed. "It's cold outside."

"I'll live," he smiled at her. "Now, hurry up."

Okay, so yesterday hadn't been a dream or nightmare, but it had been real. Bella stared at Kol for a moment before retreating and finding some clothes to wear. She wasn't sure how it happened, but while she wanted it gone yesterday, she was okay with it now. She needed to be able to get it under control.

Bella grabbed a sandwich and her stuff on her way out and looked around before looking at Kol. "Where is your car?"

"We're taking your truck today," he nodded. "As I said, it's a lot more sturdy than my car… my car is also not built to drive around in weather conditions like these…"

That was a lie. "What happened?"

Kol winced. "I might have wrapped it around a tree when I turned onto the normal road…" He admitted as he looked at his feet before looking at her. "I'm merely glad it didn't happen last night when I brought you home."

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, darling, I healed on the way over. The car, however, is lost. I might have to re-think my love for fast cars while we live in Forks. Any suggestions?"

Bella shrugged. "Something like my truck, perhaps? I dunno, you could go for a newer model. Or a 4x4."

"I could! Yes!" Kol laughed. "Great idea! Now, hand me your keys, I'm driving."

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere where we can practise your skills in some relative warmth and not in a general vicinity of Forks."

"But in the two hour radius?"

"Of course. Although you shouldn't be afraid anymore."

"Until I get this under control I'm going to be afraid," she nodded as she gave him the keys and got into the passenger seat. "Let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

Bella was shocked when Kol drove them straight to Seattle airport. She could feel panic set in halfway through the trip and kept anxiously looking out of the window even though it was somewhat sunny outside. Kol told her to relax and that he could take on any Cold One coming their way, but she was petrified.

He wasn't even telling her where they were going until the plane had taken off and Bella could breathe for a moment, taking the time to vent her frustration at him with some choice words and he merely smiled at her, allowing her to rant until she finally sat down.

"As I said, darling, you'll be safe with me. We're merely making a quick stop in New Orleans to get some of my belongings so I can teach you better and without limited resources."

"You can't just take me to a different city, Kol!"

"I can, I just did."

"What about my dad?"

"Bella, you're an adult. Who cares about your dad?"

"I do!"

Kol sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be back before dinner. I have some people who can help us get my stuff into the car," he took a sip of his bourbon. "Just relax, darling, you're not in any danger and New Orleans is quite the pretty city. I tell you what, after you've helped me to gain access to my belongings, you can go and explore for a while? Don't worry, you'll be safe from the Cold Ones, they don't set foot in that city."

"Why me?"

"Because of the nature of your witchiness, darling. You can syphon the magic off the building I need to get into. I mean, I could do it differently and find a witch who's from the same line, but why search when I have you?"

"I feel like I'm being used."

"Only slightly. See it this way; it'll be a teaching moment and you grant us access to the things I need," Kol replied. "And as a bonus you can walk around the French Quarter for a while and see what it's like."

"Not without you," she shook her head. "No fucking way."

"You'll be safe."

"No."

"Fine, then we're both going to stay at the cemetery."

Bella blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

~o.O.o~

During the winter holiday and every single day after school for three months straight she spent her time with Kol, getting her 'magic' under control, so that when she'd touch something or someone magical that nothing would happen.

While her lessons were sometimes frustrating, she had to admit, she liked hanging around with Kol and his family. Apart from their feeding habits, they were like ordinary humans. And Kol wasn't flaunting his wealth, much, either. He had bought himself a sensible new car, but that was it.

Well, and he hired cabins in the middle of nowhere where they could practice without hurting anyone. She couldn't just travel in time, no, when siphoning magic off of Kol or another willing participant, she could do spells. She could set fire to things or throw them across the room if they'd come to close. What she liked the most was that she now had one spell to knock someone out after pressing Kol for something that wouldn't hurt anyone.

Of course, all of the spells could only be done if she'd siphoned some magic from others. And she had it all under control now, even if she'd accidentally siphon from someone, she could keep it to herself.

She hadn't told Kol, but she had informed Jake about what was going on because he had started to ask questions on why she was avoiding him, and she told him that he needed to tell everyone else that she was simply too busy with school to stop by but that once she was able to, she would.

Oh, she knew that whenever she and Kol were out and about together and either in Forks or close by, Jake the wolf was keeping an eye on her from a distance. And she was glad that he did, especially in the beginning when she wasn't too sure about Kol's intentions but everything turned out to be alright.

It was easy to be around Kol. He made things easy. No pressure, not deliberately trying to force himself into her life like Edward had done. Kol sometimes took her to the movies instead of trying to have her control her gifts or teaching her new things. Or the family would invite her, and Charlie, over for dinner. Charlie was always very impressed.

Rebekah had grown into becoming her best friend. They'd hang out together after Kol was done teaching or during lunchtime. Talking about boys, or Bella's determination to swear them off for a while, or Rebekah trying to teach Bella some control over her motor skills for gym class but it always ended up with the both of them laughing when Bella would land face first on the ground. Again.

It was easy to be herself around Kol and his family. Even more so than around Jake and their friends, and she didn't quite understand why. Maybe because there were no expectations and the Mikaelsons were great at hiding their true feelings. They took her concerns or ideas seriously and talked to her about it. She loved it.

She realized that the thing that surprised her the most that neither of the Mikaelsons wanted to use her abilities for themselves. She was still a free person, a free agent and 'no' meant indeed 'no'.

She traveled back in time for short distances, and once to help out her father on a case he couldn't wrap his head around and she gave him some 'clarity'. And that felt good because she had saved a family from getting into trouble. She wanted to go further back and see what she could do but per her own rules, she didn't.

One of her own rules about time travel was that she shouldn't go back in history to 'watch' or try and change things. Everything that happened in the past had set her on the course to what she was now. So the general rule of thumb that she and Kol agreed upon that she wasn't going to go back in time further than her first trip back to save the burning house.

It was tempting, of course, mainly because of Edward, but if it hadn't been for him and his family, she wouldn't have met Kol and his family… in a roundabout way. But then again, she wouldn't have been in the position she was in now, with the Cold Ones and her stupid agreement.

But she had thought long and hard about it, if she'd change anything, her future self wouldn't have traveled back in time to tell Klaus about her and all of that had given her a headache.

"So," Bella said as she looped her arm through Kol's as they walked down the school corridor. "I've been a good girl lately, I've got myself under control and I think…"

"We should stop seeing each other?" Kol asked with an amused smile on his face.

"No," she let out a snort. "They have this thing on the rez tonight and I was asked to go," Bella looked up to him with a hopeful look on her face. "So I'm going."

"You don't have to ask me for permission, darling."

"Well, I kind of have to?"

"If you feel in control, you're in control. You know what to do when you don't feel like you're in control," Kol shrugged. "I think this would be an excellent opportunity to see how you'd do around other magical beings. I never forced you to stay away from your friend, I merely said it was a good idea if you kept your distance for a while, until you got things under control."

"I know, but still, it feels like I needed to ask permission or something."

Kol shook his head, laughing. "Don't be daft, darling. You're a free woman, you don't need me to tell you that you have pulled yourself together beautifully in terms of your abilities. I'm well proud of you." In fact, he was so proud of her that he wanted to kiss her every time he saw her. He wanted to claim her as his, but she wasn't ready for that. Like Myriam and Rebekah suggested, he was going to be patient.

While patience wasn't his forté, for things he wanted the most, he could be very patient. And for Bella's affection, he could be too. He only wished he could come with her to the reservation because that experience was likely going to be very different from her dealings with him and his own family.

After school they joined Bella's friends for their weekly cup of coffee and he dropped her off at home after. Kol wanted to tell her that if she needed help, that all she had to do was call him but he didn't want to come across as controlling while he genuinely was concerned for her well-being.

He was still just a friend.

"Can I call you when things don't go so well?" Bella asked him as she turned around to face him. "I mean… I trust them, but not quite myself."

Kol smiled widely then. "Of course!"

"I mean, I could ask you to come with but I don't want to be rude towards them."

"I know, darling, they don't like vampires very much even with Elijah trying to make nice with them."

"But you're different from _them_."

"In some people's minds we're all the same, and that's alright. Have fun tonight."

"Thanks," she smiled at him before she headed inside and started to get ready for her night at the Rez. Warmer clothing was a must despite all the warmth radiating from her friends. They basically functioned as space heaters but Bella also wanted to have girl time with Emily. It had been far too long.

Charlie wasn't home, instead, he was at a meeting with different police chiefs from Washington somewhere in Seattle to talk about the disappearance of so many people in the last few weeks and what they could do about it. It was almost as if they were being taken, so it was very important to be at the same page with everyone.

She drove to Jacob's house and after parking the car and getting out, she found herself swamped by her friends, all having big grins on their faces.

"Where have you been, Bella?"

"We missed you, Bella."

"Don't ever leave us for something dull as education again!"

"We missed you!"

"Hi."

Before she could duck away, she was being hugged by all the puppies, except for Jake who was leaning against her truck instead, knowing what he knew. She could feel her body absorb the magic and when they finally let go of her she simply smiled at them. "I'm truly sorry, but you know, I want to graduate with some actual grades," she grinned before looping her arm through Jake's. "What have I missed?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Pretty much nothing, I mean… Nah, you'll see for yourself."

"What? Tell me!" Bella laughed as she tried to contain the magic that was now inside of her and behave. She was regular Bella. Not weird Bella.

"Nope, you'll see, but first, let's go to Emily's to have some food before campfire tonight."

"Great, I haven't eaten anything yet."

The big surprise was that Emily was showing. Bella had already known that her friend had missed a period, but to see that she was actually pregnant with a little cute belly made it exciting. Bella was going to have to go to Port Angeles to get Emily something for the baby.

It soon felt like old times. Fun. Drinks. Bella was completely at ease around the wolves because she could control herself. She liked running after Seth and Leah before falling flat on her face because a) she was drunk and b) not graceful at all.

She had missed the high energy of the younger people at the Rez. And joking around with the wolves, but it had been for their own good. Bella didn't want them to get hurt by accident. They were good people and she knew what she was doing now.

Bella loved the campfire stories late at night, near the full moons, but tonight was something different. It was going to be a ritual to bless the unborn child of Emily and Sam. She'd been to several of these happenings before, but now she was really into it and understanding of why it was important. Besides, Sam and Emily were her friends. She wouldn't have wanted to miss this in the world.

Bella sat wedged between Jake and Seth - and Leah - around the campfire and she was cosily warm. The heat of the fire, the warmth of the wolves and her pleasant little buzz. All was well in the world.

She nearly nodded off but made sure she was awake for Emily and Sam, but it wasn't until Bella heard Emily call for her that Bella saw a glimpse of whatever it was and fire and dead wolves all around her. Consumed by fire, by her doing. The smell of burnt flesh in her nose and it was all because of her.

This wasn't right. She needed to get away from here. She needed to find Kol and ask him what the hell she'd seen and smelled, she needed to get out.

Bella felt the now familiar sensation of the magic pulling her into the 'time tunnel' and she found herself falling, stumbling, uncontrollably. When she landed on solid ground, Bella felt her stomach churn and fell to her knees to throw up. Too much food and booze.

Once she felt better, she looked around and noticed that she wasn't at the reservation. Not at all. She found herself in the middle of a town's square that wasn't Forks. Upon closer inspection, she was on a school campus. One of those big ones. Telling from the clothes that people around her were wearing, she hadn't gone too far back. But this was the first time she was actually somewhere else, and not sure how or why.

Well, she had thought of Kol in her panic, but wouldn't that have taken her to the Cullen House instead?

"Day drinking, classy," a voice said as he helped her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Bella smiled at the boy as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Could do with something to drink though."

"Well, follow me, I was just heading to the cafeteria to meet up with my friend."

"Oh, I don't know, I don't tend to stay long…"

"Come on, you look as pale as a sheet," he said as he motioned for her to follow him. "The name's Jeremy, by the way."

"Uh… Becky."

"Nice to meet you Becky," he grinned. "It's not far, I promise."

"Where are we?"

Jeremy eyed her for a moment. "You must have been drinking a lot to forget you're in Denver."

Denver? As in Colorado Denver? Wow. "Guilty. What year is this?"

"Are you taking the piss?"

"Humor me."

"It's October 27th, 2016."

Two years. Well, nearly. A year and a half. She blinked then, remembering the stories she was told by Kol and his family. Was this Jeremy Gilbert? Kol told her that after Klaus had retrieved all stakes that could kill his family they'd gone into hiding and eventually came to Forks last year. Kol was keeping an eye on Jeremy for 'leverage' against the doppelganger, Jeremy's sister Elena. "Right, I remember."

"You go to school here?"

"Nope. Not sure what I'm doing here, either," Bella said as she followed Jeremy into the cafeteria and followed him to a table at the back where she saw Kol sit. His hair noticeably longer, annoyance etched on his face. He wasn't liking pretending to be nice to Jeremy. He called him a nuisance, Bella remembered.

"Kol's new to Denver himself, just like me," Jeremy explained as he sat down. "You don't mind Becky joining us for lunch, do you?"

"Of course not," Kol replied and Bella found him looking at her with a stranger's eyes. It was unnerving. He actually looked as if she was his next snack. "What happened to you?"

She still hadn't gone back yet. Usually her trips lasted five minutes, or longer if she really focused, and with this being an accidental trip, she was unsure of things now. Bella really needed Kol's help. "Alcohol," Bella replied with a groan. "And other stuff," she replied before shifting to look at Jeremy. "Could you please get me something to drink?"

"Yeah, of course, I promised, didn't I?" Jeremy smiled widely and got to his feet. "Anything else?"

"Something fatty with bacon to eat?"

"Sure," he laughed as he walked off.

Bella then turned to Kol and smiled at him. "I need your help, Kol Mikaelson," she said in barely a whisper, to make sure that Jeremy didn't overhear them.

Kol immediately narrowed his eyes on her. "Who are you?"

"A friend in need. Can we ditch Gilbert and go somewhere?"

"A friend? I don't even know you!" He spat as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it, his vampire visage bleeding slightly bleeding out before it retreated.

"For Christmas your favourite family tradition is to burn wishes, you haven't done that in a very long time," Bella said softly. "Please, Kol, I need your help."

"Fine," he scowled, withdrawing his hand and getting up before pulling her along with him, taking her away from the cafeteria and out of reach of Jeremy. A few blocks away, he pushed her against the nearest wall. "I have given it a thought. I'm not going to help you. Did Nik send you to check up on me?"

"No. And don't try to compel me, it won't work." She then realized that this Kol didn't know anything about time travel. At all. He couldn't help her, could he?

"Fine, then I'm going to have you for lunch," he said as his vampire visage bled out and sunk his teeth into her neck.


	8. Chapter 8

Oh, he hurt her by driving his fangs into her neck. Bella hadn't expected any different and, strangely, she found it exciting. She put her hand around his neck and used enough of his essence to throw him off of her, ripping her neck a little. Putting her hand around her own neck she glared at him. "Idiot! I came to you to feel safe! And this is what you do to me?!" She used the little magic that she had left to fling him against the nearest wall.

"I don't even know you!"

"Yeah, I know! How was I supposed to know that I was going to end up here instead of where you are now?!" She shot back at him. "I-I saw something at the reservation and I'm not sure what I saw but I needed to get to you and then I panicked and I ended up here instead of your home! To a time where you don't even know me! Which is fucking useless!" She then removed her hand from her neck to see how much blood was coming out of it and was disgusted by the smell of the blood before putting it back on her neck. "And now I'm fucking bleeding out!"

"Have you lost your bloody mind? I don't have any friends!"

"No wonder with your attitude! To think that I thought Myriam and I defended you against your brother. I don't know if I want to again next time," she scoffed, her hand pressed back against her neck.

"You know Myriam?"

"Of course I fucking do," she growled. "And she won't be happy if you're allowing me to die!"

Kol rushed over to feed her his blood and backed off again. "You're a witch."

"That's what you keep telling me. I thought we were becoming friends, but after this, I think you really are more like my ex and his family now," she glared and moved away from him.

"I'm sorry?" Kol said a bit uneasy. "What can I help you with? You said you had a vision?"

She glared at him before turning away, unsure if she should share with this Kol who'd attacked her. She didn't trust this one and he was a lot more temperamental than the one she was getting to know in her normal timeline. "Do you have any idea how I can get back to where I'm supposed to be?"

"Take the bus?"

"Yeah, you're no help," Bella sighed as she reached out to him to grab him, and used her magic to snap his neck before spelling him to forget this encounter, but she wasn't sure if it completely stuck. She then lifted his phone and dialed Klaus' number. He was likely busy but she was stuck. And Klaus knew about her.

"_I told you not to call me!"_

"Good thing Kol's not calling you then," Bella replied. "I'm stuck."

"_Bella?"_

"Oh good," Bella let out a breath as she kept an eye on the unconscious Kol. "Your brother tried to have me for lunch."

There was some rustling sound before he spoke again. "_Now is not a good time for this. What happened?"_

"I don't know! Likely alcohol and a bunch of shifter wolves that made me lose control and I had a vision and wanted to go to Kol and I end up here, where your brother is a fucking dick."

"_How far did you travel back?"_

"A year and a half, but Klaus, I've been here for the last 30 minutes. Something is wrong."

"_Or you just haven't found out what you came back to learn yet. You said you had a vision right before traveling. What did you see?" _He tiredly asked, sounding distracted as the sound of a door closing crossed the phone.

"I saw all the wolves burned and I thought I was responsible for that but if this is not the right time for you, it's fine, I'll just-"

"_No, Bella. It's not your fault. You didn't pick your timing. I know that. It's just there is another powerful being we are also dealing with at the moment. And of course, Myriam and Elijah don't yet know about you. As far as the shifters burning, do you recall any other details? Figures in the distance?"_

"The smell of burnt flesh, I don't know, I wasn't sure what was happening so I wasn't paying attention. I just wanted to go back to safety."

"_You should have Kol walk through the memory to pull the details-"_

"Sure! If I get back! There's no way that I'm letting this one anywhere near me! I just wiped his memory too!"

"_I don't know how to get you back. This isn't exactly my area. He knows most about witches, Love."_

"But I wrote to myself and-"

"_It's not here, I can't help you with that book at the moment. I suppose you'll just have to play nice with this Kol to figure it out. He's not a bad person, just very… newly released from his box and scared of this powerful being we're going to have to face."_

"I know it's your mother."

Klaus sighed. "_I can't help you. Kol can. Perhaps even Jeremy Gilbert, as he had teachings from Alaric."_

"This whole situation your family left in Virginia to hide from in Forks is completely fucked up."

"_No, that's something entirely different if we are going to Forks soon, don't you worry about that, don't tell me the future," _Klaus replied. "_We can handle our mother."_

"Still. She's a bitch."

"_That she is. Now, go play nice with Kol."_

"Do I have to?" She whined as she kicked the unconscious vampire with a pout.

"_He's your best chance."_

"Fine, thanks," she sighed. "Give Myriam a hug from me, but don't actually say… you know."

"_Good luck, I hope you can get back to your own time soon."_ Klaus then disconnected the call and Bella kicked Kol again before returning the phone to his pocket and sat down next to him.

Sighing, she cast a spell to revive him sooner and she found herself up against a wall again, her feet dangling underneath her. Round two, with his mind wiped. "Haven't you learned anything?"

"Learned what? You're food!" Kol hissed at her before dropping her to the ground again. Okay, so the wipe didn't stick that well.

"You tried to eat me! I told you I was a friend!"

No, she hadn't told him that. He had his neck snapped somehow and this strange girl was sitting next to him. "And I don't know who the hell you are!"

"Becky. I'm a Siphoner witch who just learned how to have her time travel powers under control and got spooked by a vision she didn't know she could have and that ended me up here," Bella explained. "Now, your brother knows who I am and even though you're a gigantic asshole, he said you're my best bet to get me back home."

"You know my brother? Are you working for him?"

"Fuck no," Bella scowled. "I don't work for anyone but you need to help me, because technically, I am outside my Cold One safety zone and they can come and kill me soon, too."

"Cold Ones?"

"Yep."

"And you said you had a vision? What do you remember of it? What triggered your unexplained… time travel?"

"I was at a shapeshifter bonfire? I don't know. It was going like every other one I've been at before."

"Shifters? Those wolves up in Forks?"

"Yeah."

"And how did you get your powers under control?"

"With help from you."

"Oh," he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Their magic is different from ours. More potent, more ancient."

"But you allowed me to go."

Why would he do that? "I did?"

Bella nodded. "And I didn't just time travel, I traveled in place, and had a vision for the first time."

"And you have Cold One trouble?"

"I kind of need to be off the street before the sun goes down," Bella nodded again.

"I'm supposed to do something else," he replied as he looked around. "But seeing as we're nowhere near Jeremy at the moment, sure, why not? Come on," Kol replied as he started to walk away from her. "I know just the place."

"Are you going to hurt me again?"

"If you know my brother, then I'd better not," he replied. "Besides, I've never met a Siphoner witch before who could travel in time."

"And I'm going to make you forget, too."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because that would screw up my present. Your future."

"And Nik knows about you?"

"Yeah, because I need him to tell me what I am," Bella replied as she looked at Kol who had a questionable look on his face. "Long story. I don't know why I did that, it's in my future. Time travel makes my head hurt."

"And you came to me for help?"

"Future you isn't such an asshole," Bella replied. "You helped me. A lot. It's okay to be nice, you know. You're an Original vampire, the only one you need to be afraid of is your brother's wife."

"Not even Elijah or Nik themselves?"

"During the first time I had dinner with you guys Myriam had garden shears on the table next to her, ready to use it."

Kol opened the door to an abandoned building and lead Bella inside with a thoughtful look on his face. "That does sound a lot like her, yes."

"So. Help me to get back?"

He smirked as he stared back at her. "I could try to help but what incentive do I have to want to do that? Perhaps I'd like to keep you here and see what you can do myself?"

"There's two of me in this time. I need to get back, I'm just not sure _how_," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You never need an incentive, but I don't know… I'll take you out to dinner when I get back?"

"What use is that for me now?!"

Bella shrugged for an answer. "Klaus said that it likely has to do with the vision I had when I was at the reservation and because I didn't know what it was, I didn't understand it and that you could help me."

"I could. Yes. But again, why would I? Because my brother said I would? Perhaps I can't use you as a snack, but I could have a lot of fun with you. _Right now_," he said as he slowly walked towards her, his eyes darting all across her body. "I'm still faster than you. If I tie you up, you can't siphon my magic."

"You wouldn't," Bella replied kindly. "Because I have done nothing to harm you at this point. You, however, tried to use me as a snack already. I'm not your enemy, Kol. I'm a friend. And seriously, if you going to behave like this, I'll break your neck and I'll try to figure shit out for myself. Or… I don't know. Hand myself over to the Volturi so they think that it's the real me and my current me will be free."

Her face lit up with the idea, believing it might actually work.

Kol sighed and shook his head. More annoyed at the mere mention of the parasites. "First, I don't know when or how you got yourself tangled up with those buggers but I doubt that would work because that all hinges on when you made your deal. Second, it's always more fun to fuck with their overly confident heads and then pull the rug out from under them. Just let me into your pretty mind so that I can see what we are dealing with and I know what you saw. We will get you back so that I don't have my brother on my arse for eternity."

"Safely."

"Yes, safely," he nodded as he pointed at the floor. "Works better if you sit, in case you fall and hurt yourself. I promise I won't take a peek at anything else."

"It's okay if you did, though," Bella replied as she sat down in the dirt. "I wouldn't mind." She'd wipe his memory anyway. Perhaps leave the idea that he met a time-traveling siphoner witch, but that's it. She didn't want to mess with history. But perhaps he could see a different side to himself, too, and learn something.

This Kol was still a bit rough around the edges. Likely only out of his box for a few months, perhaps even weeks, now on a mission for Klaus while also worrying about his mother. Maybe the point where he'd calm down some without feeling high strung came after the demise of his mother.

"I'll be discreet," he said as he squatted down next to her, looking at her for a moment. "Are we involved from where you're from?"

"We're friends. You're keeping your distance."

Kol sighed. "Pity," he gently placed his hands on both sides of her head and let out another breath. "This won't hurt, just think of the situation you were in when you had your vision happen, I'll find it. The first couple of visions are always the hardest."

Bella looked up at him and blinked for a moment. "I didn't even know I could have visions. I shouldn't have. I can only travel in time and do some spells to protect myself."

"That's alright. I do suggest you telling uh- me about this when you get back. If it's true what you say and I've been helping you, there might be more to your powers."

"I was at the rez, we had some good food, a few drinks, and then we were around the campfire, I was sitting wedged between my two friends, shifters, and I think they were all touching for some reason but I was buzzing and nice and warm so I didn't think anything of it," Bella replied. "It was a ceremony for Sam and Emily's unborn child. I was nearly nodding off and then I saw it. Everyone burnt. I could even smell burnt flesh and then I was here."

Kol nodded. "Try to take a snapshot of the image of everyone burnt. It might be distressing for you, but you might have missed signs of what happened."

"But…"

He sighed as he found the vision. Her mind was cluttered, it wasn't as easy as for example reading another vampire's mind. "I have it…" Yes, the wolves were all dead and burnt. The campfire obscuring the background, but focusing through the smoke, he could see an army of red-eyed vampires. Cold Ones. "Who did you piss off so much that they'd create a newborn army to decimate the reservation?"

"What?"

Kol nodded as he pulled the vision closer and looped Bella in to see it for herself. "It's likely created from missing children from the area, they barely look legal."

"My dad is dealing with that now…" Bella couldn't believe what she was seeing. Kids her age, some she'd seen at her school. "You're saying a Cold One did this?"

Kol pulled out of her mind and looked her over. "And my guess is that you know who it is. And you're scared. It's likely why you're still here and haven't gone back to your own time."

That made sense. Bella looked at her hands just to avoid Kol's gaze.

"However, if it's true what you say and that I and my family have been helping you with your gifts, you have nothing to worry about, _Becky_. We'll keep you safe. And if you go back now, you can inform them about your vision and they will stop it from happening to save your friends."

She looked up at him then. "I know, you've been saying that."

"Then trust us."

"I do! I don't want you to get hurt. This is my mess."

"And those newborns will be a danger to everyone if they're not being dealt with. You could, of course, allow it to happen and then the Volturi will come to Forks. Would you want that? Because they will blame you and they will kill you, too."

"They won't. Despite their deceit, they are true to their word and won't kill me as long as I stay in Forks or two hours around it. On top of that, I'm supernatural like them."

"It would be the perfect opportunity to tell them to shove it. However, newborns are extremely dangerous and volatile. They can't be tamed that easily and they will tear through your town if you allow this to happen. Don't be afraid, Bella. You'll be alright."

"I never told you my name."

"I just went inside your head. You were lying about your name, but not about everything else," Kol replied kindly. "You're a good person, Bella, but if I and my family give you our word or our aid, we will. We've dealt with the parasites before. Or at least my brothers have. It'll be alright, you have nothing to fear," he smiled then as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "From what I saw inside your mind, you're already part of our family and we'd do anything for family."

"I'm not a part-"

"That's because you're not allowing yourself to feel more than you allow yourself to feel. Whoever hurt you so bad in the past, it's not us. We're a volatile bunch, yes, but we take care of our own. And from what I could see, you're one of ours. Stop being afraid, Bella, you're this amazing witch who can kick our asses when need be. Live a little," he said as he helped her to her feet. "And my apologies for having been so… rude and… defensive. I don't like surprises that much and I believed that Nik sent someone to check up on me because he doesn't trust me."

He was right, wasn't he? Bella had been keeping them at arm's length because she didn't want to get hurt. But they'd done nothing to even make her panic or think that they weren't looking out for her. "He does."

"I know, otherwise he wouldn't send me to Denver to spy on his doppelganger's baby brother. I can't wait until I can beat him up, however, I truly am sorry, Bella."

"It's alright, Kol," she smiled at him. "Thank you for helping me. It's strange how I panicked myself to here instead of home, but maybe that was a good thing as well."

"Everything has a reason, we may not know why it happens, but it happens for a reason."

"I am, however, going to erase the fact that you've met me. You won't remember this encounter."

"I still don't like that."

"Neither do I, but I don't want to mess up my present. If you'd like, I could have you retain the knowledge of having met a time-traveling witch?"

"Take it all, darling, knowing something but not quite remembering what will only drive me insane and I'll turn it into an obsession to find out. It's not the best of plans."

The way she erased his memory was to 'rewind' his brain until the point of being in the cafeteria by himself and added a false memory of him needing to feed. Once she was done, and confident that this stuck, she planted a kiss on his cheek as she could feel the pull coming to take her back. "Thank you, Kol Mikaelson," she whispered before she disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

She could feel herself being able to direct herself to where she wanted to be, and while her truck was still at the reservation, she didn't feel like explaining herself. Bella found herself in the Mikaelson home, in the living room and fell onto the couch upon coming back. Hopefully, she had timed it right and there weren't two of her around.

"It's been ten minutes since Jake came to our house to say you disappeared… he gave it ten minutes too," Kol said as he casually walked into the living room. "I told him not to worry, but I was worried, where were you? What happened?" He helped her sit up and checked her over. "Is that blood! What the hell happened?"

"I'm fine," she said, tired. "What time is it?"

"Midnight."

"Of course I'm tired," she sighed as she swatted his hands away from her. "I got stuck for a little and some vampire thought I was a snack. Taught him a lesson."

"Stuck? Why? What happened?"

"Ah… uhm…" she ran her hand through her hair and grabbed a pillow to hug it to get some space between her and Kol. "I was drunk, cozy and warm in the middle of a pack of wolves and uhh… I had a vision."

"A vision?" Kol blinked at her. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know. The guy who helped me when I was stuck said it had to do with the difference in magic between you and the wolves. More potent or something and I don't want to have one ever again. It sucked."

"But how did it make you go stuck? I can imagine it was a panic reaction but how did it make you stuck?"

She played with the corner of the pillow and looked at it as she took a deep breath. "I wasn't sure at first, but with some help, I discovered that what I saw was the wolves slaughtered by an army of newborns. I recognized a handful from Charlie's missing children flyers.."

"The Volturi would never allow that to happen."

"No, it's Victoria. I knew she was planning something, but this?" She felt the panic rise in herself again. "She's coming to kill me for what Edward did to her mate and she's going to bring an army to do so."

"Not if we stop that right now," Klaus' voice sounded as he walked in and looked Bella over before guilt briefly washed over his face upon seeing the blood on her neck and shirt. "Wasn't your father involved with this?"

"Uh, yeah, he's having a meeting with other chiefs from the area. He's back tomorrow."

"That means that the army is still in its early stages, it'll be easier to take care of them. Your wolves will be safe, as will you and Forks," he said gently. "You can help, of course, you'll be a great asset to us in the fight."

"That's great but can you guys tell me how I can suddenly have visions?" Bella asked, feeling a bit… she wasn't sure how she felt. Included? Edward and the rest of the Cullens always treated her as a fragile being.

"We'll see if it returns and then work on that, how's that?" Kol suggested. "But for now, how about you get some sleep and then Nik, Elijah and I will check out what's going on and think of a plan on how to stop them."

"My truck is still at the rez," Bella pouted. "And Charlie isn't home."

"You can have the guest room," Myriam grinned as she rubbed her hands in glee. "With your permission, I'll go to your home to fetch you some clothes and nightwear while you take a bath. It's sleepover time."

Bella's grew large as she looked over at Klaus and Kol. "Should I be afraid?" She pointlessly whispered, almost terrified of the expression on the female vampire's face.

"No," Klaus said impishly. "She'll make sure you get your rest."

"Just don't kill her when she wakes you early in the morning to watch a movie or something," Kol added.

"I won't! Look at her! She looks dead on her feet!" Myriam defended herself. "Maybe if she stays over more often. _Then_ I might do that. It's been far too long."

"Girls nights are usually done at night, love," Klaus said kindly.

Myriam huffed. "I'm a rebel. Now go get your brother and assess the situation, I'll take care of the witch," she said as she put an arm around Bella and started to lead her up the stairs. "Do I have permission to enter your home to get you some clothes? I promise I won't do anything but that."

"Yeah, sure," Bella sighed. "Or I could just get one of your shirts or something."

"Nah, it's always better to be in your own clothes, at least that's my experience," once upstairs, Myriam opened the door to the guest room that had an ensuite bathroom. "Welcome to your guest room, Bella, I hope you like it. If not, just tell me and I'll change it for the next time but I had so much fun decorating it for you."

"You didn't just-"

"Do this for you?" Myriam smiled widely. "Of course I did! Who else will come over for a sleepover? It's not like Rebekah wants to invite the girls from school over and you're Kol's only- friend. So yeah, I thought it'd be nice to create something you'd like so you'd feel more at home. Is it too much?"

"A little, yeah," Bella let out a snort as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I mean… I don't think I'll stay over that much and-"

"That's okay."

The whole room was in pastel colors, not nauseating, but classy. There were some wooden fixtures like the exterior of the house and the beams she'd seen all throughout the house and the bed looked nice and comfortable. There was a dresser for her clothes, a desk with some books on there and an ensuite bathroom. "Thank you, Myriam," Bella smiled at her. "You're insane but this is great!"

"Great! Now get clean, I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Rebekah's around, just busy with her latest project but you'll be safe nonetheless. Do you mind if I burn those clothes once you're out of them? You don't want to try to explain to your dad where all that blood came from."

Bella huffed. "It's not the first time I'd had to wash blood out of clothes."

"Likely his clothes, right?"

"Yes."

"That's my point," Myriam pointed out. "See you in a bit!"

~o.O.o~

When she woke up the following morning she was slightly disoriented, she wasn't in her own room and the sleep had made her memory fuzzy. It took her a moment that she had stayed the night at the Mikaelsons, had survived the night at the Mikaelsons and that there had been no Mikaelson sitting on the bed with her to watch her sleep.

It was great to wake up like this. She felt rested and hungry. Grabbing her phone, Bella panicked when she saw the time. Why had they allowed her to sleep in so late?! She needed to get dressed and pick up her truck and apologize to the wolves. Oh, god, the wolves. She wasn't sure if she was able to face them after not returning last night. How could she face them like this? She couldn't rely on Jake having told them, so that was going to be a great conversation.

Jake had sent her several messages asking if she was alright. Her dad had sent her one message that he was going to come home today, which meant she needed her truck to do groceries. And then she needed to study. And deal with- A shit ton of other stuff. And thank the Mikaelsons for their hospitality and…

She had so much to do. So much.

And Bella didn't want to. She wanted to hide and make it all go away. Again. And that was wrong too. It was better to go 'poof'. Away. That was hiding, too.

Sighing, she rolled out of bed and got dressed, grateful for Myriam to have gotten her own clothes and made sure she left the bed made up before tentatively making her way downstairs towards the voices. She hated sleeping over - anywhere.

"Hey look who's awake," Klaus greeted her. "Just in time for brunch. Rebekah retrieved your truck from the reservation while Kol explained the situation and assured the pups you were alright."

"You might want to text Jake though," Kol nodded as he pat on the chair next to him. "He wasn't really happy and very worried. As expected, he's your best friend after all."

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you and-"

Myriam pointed at the empty chair for Bella to sit down in. "So, where did you go yesterday?"

Bella sat down next to Kol and scratched her head before briefly glancing at Klaus. "2016. Out of state."

"Oh, that's good, then the vampire who bit you could still be alive. Who was it? I could do with a good kill!" Kol said as he rubbed his hands together in glee. "I'll make it as painful as possible, I promise."

She uneasily shifted in her chair. "Can we just talk about something else? I got stuck, I got help and I'm back. And did what you told me taught me to do, erase that vampire's mind so he wouldn't remember the encounter and endanger the present."

"Remembering you or not, you got hurt."

"I'm fine, I promise," Bella said and felt Rebekah stare at her so she got some pancakes on the plate in front of her and felt that stare ease up. "I'll just have to stay away from puppy piles for now so it won't happen again."

"I don't care."

"Kol, leave it alone, please," Bella said as she took a bite out of her pancake.

"It was one of us, wasn't it? And you erased the memory, why?"

"Because whoever it was, told me that if I'd left only a little bit of knowledge about what they encountered, they'd never stop searching or trying to find out who it was," Bella explained. "It'd drive them mad and it would cause a lot of trouble."

Kol had seen her brief glance over to Klaus earlier. It wasn't fair. "And yet, it seems like you told Nik. Again. And you allowed him to remember," Kol was jealous. Once again his brother knew everything and he didn't. "So, who was it, Nik?"

Bella couldn't believe Kol's…. What was it? Anger? Jealousy? What? He hadn't been this antagonistic towards his brother before. Then again, during the dinners she had had over at the Mikaelsons they had all been very well behaved for the most part, but this was the first time she realized that Kol could be a ticking time bomb because he didn't do emotions very well. But why?

Why now?

What would the harm be if she'd free that memory? Likely a lot. If he wanted to kill the vampire who had taken a bite out of her, then he was going to hate himself. On the other hand, it wasn't fair, seeing as she interacted with Kol in the past and only Klaus knew that. Then again, she basically erased his memory, or her way of a vampire's compulsion and she shouldn't have been able to do that on an Original vampire. And she had. Power made them scared and paranoid.

Telling Kol could either be the best or the worst thing, there was no middle ground.

"Tell me Kol. How would you feel if you knew that you may have attacked Bella two years ago? Maybe I'm not telling you that it was I because I'd already met her and already knew and have to help keep the timeline," Klaus argued, trying to help. "It could have been Myriam and you know how she is when she is blood drunk. Or Elijah when back when mother messes with his head. No. I know but I won't say."

"Did I?" Kol asked angrily as he looked at his brother. "Because no one dares to say a name, which makes me think it was me."

Bella rolled her eyes and looked over at Klaus before sighing and looking at Kol. "Can we like… talk somewhere without them?"

"It was me!"

She sighed and slowly nodded. "But can we talk about that? Just you and me? Not with the rest of your family?"

"No," Kol said as he pushed his chair back and got to his feet. "I can't believe you didn't allow me to remember!" He then ran out of the house, slamming the door in his wake.

"I'm sorry, maybe I should just go and-"

"Stick your head in the sand and withdraw?" Rebekah asked, raising a brow. "Not going to happen, Ducky. I'm sure you had your reasons and Kol will return once he comes to the same conclusion. Don't run."

Bella pointed in the general direction of the door. "That was not the Kol I left behind when I went to see the wolves at the Rez. I fucked up."

"Oh, no, that's the same Kol alright," Rebekah replied. "All these months he's been on his best behavior around you. Patient. Caring. He wanted to help you and make sure that you were alright and had your powers under control," she explained before taking a sip of her tea. "While he usually tolerates witches and manipulates them to think that he's not impatient, his behaviour towards yourself was new."

"When Jake came here to tell him that you were missing, Kol went crazy with worry. He knew he should have never allowed you to go to the Rez. At least not by yourself. But he told you to go because he also knows how much you'd missed your friends," Myriam added. "Kol truly cares about you, Bella, more than that he's willing to show at the moment because he doesn't want to scare you off."

"Right now he's mostly angry with me," Klaus said with an encouraging smile. "He's jealous. But I'm sure that you talked with Kol about erasing his memory as not to change your present and future."

"I should have done that to you but you were in Mystic Falls," Bella muttered. "And since you were already keeping my secret and done well with it, I didn't care. Seeing as Kol's my friend, I wanted to preserve that and not change how I met him or whatever. I don't see any issue with returning the memory of us meeting in Denver, other than the fact that he won't like how we were towards each other. Mainly because he thought that you send me to him, Klaus, and wanted to have me for lunch. So I wiped the floor with him."

"Ah, true love," Myriam grinned. "In all honesty, Kol will come back. He just has a lot of pent-up stress and aggression he needs to deal with at the moment. Vampire and all. Finish your breakfast and go about your day, that's the best you can do."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, and if he doesn't, I'll make him," Myriam said in barely a whisper with a demented smirk on her face. "It's been a while since I made him do something he didn't want…"

"And you're not going to, either!" Bella said shocked. If she was willing to threaten Elijah with cutting off his manhood with garden shears, what on Earth would Myriam do to Kol? "Leave him alone, I can understand why he'd be hurt."

After breakfast, she thanked the Mikaelsons for their care and jumped into her truck to get groceries so she could start cooking for her dad after cleaning up the house a little. Bella couldn't help but worry about Kol, so while she was cleaning, she sent him a text message asking if he was okay and if he'd please forgive her. That she wanted to explain.

But she didn't get a message back. Nor the next day. Bella had, however, received several messages from Jake to which she responded but got annoyed when the number of texts didn't stop, making her want to change her number just for him. She wanted Kol to respond and hoped he hadn't done anything stupid.

_My window's open. Come here, let's talk._

Bella couldn't help herself. Kol likely needed space but she wanted to make this right for him. And tell him that she'd likely do it again if she'd meet him in the past. To preserve what was now. Because if she'd change one thing, everything could change while she wouldn't. And Kol knew this. He was aware of the rules and, while he couldn't remember, he had given his permission.

But she was going to make him remember and then see what happened. She didn't want to lose him over this. Bella wasn't sure if she could do this without him or the rest of his family.

It didn't take long before a slightly agitated looking Kol was standing in her bedroom. "The window? Really?"

"My dad's asleep," Bella said as she looked at him from her position on her bed and put her phone away. "Are you okay? Have you calmed down some?"

Kol sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, Bella, that I got jealous at my brother for knowing what happened. It almost feels as if you two have a secret club that I'm not a part of, but, I do understand. Nik wouldn't have let it affect his decisions and I would."

"But it still isn't fair."

"No, especially knowing that I have hurt you. I wouldn't even dare to think that I would do that to you now."

She crawled to him and settled herself next to him as she took his hand. "Would you like to know? I mean, we're in the present now, nothing can change."

"Is that even possible?"

"I think so, yes. I'm not even sure how I managed to do that on you, seeing as you're an Original vampire armed with potent magic in your blood yourself," she gently squeezed his hand. "Oh, but you did feed me your blood to heal before I did the spell."

"Then that must have been it, that extra little nudge."

"You were an asshole."

"I'm still one, darling, I just behave myself slightly better these days because of you, because I know what the Cold Ones have done to you and I'm not a saint. Nik and Elijah often tell me to do their dirty work when I'm out of the box."

Bella smiled then as she looked up to him. "You're a good person, Kol Mikaelson. And I understood that I met you when you were still a little rough around the edges because you'd been only free for a week at that point. I will try to return the memory to you but I don't want you to feel any guilt over you thinking I would make a great snack, because I smacked you on your ass for that."

"You did?"

She nodded with a big smile on her face. "I wasn't even afraid of you."

"Something is wrong with you," Kol let out a snort. "You truly don't see danger."

"I do _now_. But you and your family are a different kind of danger. You protect each other and anyone who crosses one of you will be truly sorry. As long as I don't do anything to hurt you, I'm not in any danger."

"We won't hurt you."

"Yeah, I know," she retorted as their eyes locked. "Because otherwise you wouldn't have told me most of your family's history. You let me in, and you didn't have to do that," she said as she squeezed his hand again. "Just promise me you won't start hating yourself or get angry with what happened. That was a different situation."

Kol nodded. "I promise."

She took his other hand and whispered the spell Kol had taught her to release the memory, nearly falling off the bed as he got up in shock.

"That…" he said as he scratched his head in confusion as he looked at her. "That's certainly a strange experience… Don't ever do that again, please."

"I hope not to, but I was actually thinking that should I encounter you in the past again, to do the same thing. That way you still know what happened, but nothing would have changed."

"You could allow it to change."

"But I don't want things to change."

"Why not? You were a bitch when I first met you."

"Yeah, and you were a persistent jerk, who cares? If that didn't happen, you know, we wouldn't be where we are now."

Kol looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, alright."

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! I've had some concerns about Myriam in the past, especially since I've basically put her in every story since we developed her and I can promise you that this will be the last story with her in it.

She was conceived because I really like writing Kol, but I like Klaus as well, and Klaus is better with someone by his side who's not Elijah, a female presence makes Klaus mellow out a bit more and not be so hard on his brother Kol ;-)


	10. Chapter 10

Kol stayed for a few more hours, they just quietly talked about what happened and they both made sure that they were alright. Bella wanted to be sure that Kol wasn't feeling bad and Kol wanted to be sure that Bella wasn't afraid of him after what happened.

Bella wasn't sure why this was so important. Perhaps she just didn't want to lose Kol as a friend. She liked his company and she wanted to make sure they were okay. Kol was different. He wasn't like any of her human friends, he was better. And maybe it was because he had hundreds of years of experience being human, or being alive, but Bella simply liked his energy.

It was easy to be around _him_ and his family. More around Kol as she spent the most time with him but apart from Elijah sometimes, she didn't feel that they didn't want her around. It felt more real, and there was a real connection. At least, that's what she thought.

She didn't dare to voice that thought because right now everything was fine, what if she'd mess things up?

Bella looked to her door when she heard a knock and Charlie's face appeared. "You're not up yet?"

"It's Sunday, dad, good morning."

"But your friends are downstairs, they told me you guys were going bowling in Seattle today?"

Bowling. Nice one. "That's today?"

"But Bells, you're going to have to be careful, alright? Seattle isn't one of the safest places to go to right now, despite you guys going with adult supervision."

"We'll be fine, dad, I promise," Bella smiled as she got out of bed. "I'll be downstairs in ten minutes."

Charlie sighed and nodded. "Not that I'm not happy that you're leaving the house, again, but…"

"I'll pack my mace," Bella said reassuringly. "Promise," a devious smile appeared on her face then. "Feel free to do the stern concerned dad cop thing to them. Make them squirm."

"I already did," Charlie grinned before closing her door again and Bella could hear him go downstairs.

She quickly took a shower and got dressed before heading downstairs. "I am so sorry, I didn't know we were doing it today."

Rebekah smacked Kol over on his head. "I knew I should have set the date with you and not him. Men, right?"

"Yep," Bella kissed Charlie on the cheek and followed Rebekah and Kol out. "Can we stop somewhere for breakfast first then?" She asked before closing the door.

"Sure. Myriam has found out something about your family and it's not what we initially believed," Kol nodded as he helped her into the car. "She, Nik and Elijah have already set off, but we can give them a call so they stop at the nearest stop."

"What new information?"

"The Heretics weren't part of the Travelers but from a coven of witches who ousted them for being siphoners," Rebekah replied, bored of it. "Because when you have to get it from other sources, it's not real magic."

"Now, the Gemini Coven do have something to do with the Travelers though. It's easy to see where historians got it wrong. The Geminis cursed the Travelers 2000 years ago for inadvertently creating the Doppelgangers and have watched them ever since," Kol explained as he started the car and drove off. "And, as it happens, some of the Gemini are still alive and they might know more about your powers or where you come from."

"Myriam's going to be so pissed that she didn't get to tell you herself," Rebekah let out a snort. "But it's worth finding out about, right? After we deal with the newborns today?"

"We have school tomorrow," Bella replied as she fastened her seatbelt. "On top of that, I'm already extremely nervous for going to Seattle which is way out of my 2 hour circle of freedom around Forks. Where would we go to meet a Gemini witch?"

"Not that much further away than Seattle," Kol mused. "Portland."

She liked this about the Mikaelsons. Despite them being old and seemingly knowledgeable about everything, they made mistakes too. Such as the Travelers and the Gemini Coven. Then again, mistakes were easily made if the two covens were intertwined in history. Didn't she write to herself about the Gemini in that letter? She'd have to check. "No."

"Yes," Kol smirked. "Live a little. The Volturi won't know what happened to them if you take care of them. How does going to Volterra during Spring Break sound?"

"I don't have the money to actually get a flight out there, you know," Bella countered grumpily. Yes, she did. It was in her college fund, courtesy of the stupid Cullens. "Besides, I'm not ready to face them yet."

"You will be after today," Kol smiled at her. "Myriam brought you Laurent's head to siphon the magic out of."

"Ew?"

"Yeah, you could use me instead," Kol nodded. "I told her you wouldn't like the idea, although it's slightly poetic. Using a Cold One's magical essence to take out Cold Ones."

"I wouldn't mind using their magic against them but a decapitated head?" Bella retorted, shaking her head. "That's gross."

"The venom has dried already, so it won't hurt you."

"No."

Myriam was indeed not happy that Kol and Rebekah had told Bella the news already, but she could add that the Gemini coven and its members were skilled at invisibility and illusion spells and that finding an actual member was going to be difficult. The Gemini had a habit of exiling members who couldn't practice magic the normal way and many centuries ago had ousted a distant cousin of Bella's and that they had absolutely no ties to the Gemini. It was going to be even more difficult to find someone because of that but she had no doubt that Kol and Bella could find someone who'd be willing to talk to them.

The further away from Forks they got, the more nervous Bella grew. They were going to take care of an army of newborns, and likely Victoria herself, in Seattle, with the six of them. During breakfast, Klaus mentioned that they had counted at least 50 newborns roaming around the warehouse district of Seattle and Bella was not sure how they were going to defeat them all without getting hurt.

"You need to relax," Rebekah said from the back seat as they were near Seattle. "You'll be of no use like this, a ball of anxiety."

"What if the Volturi Guard is here? Taking care of this problem themselves? And what if they spot me?"

"You're no longer a silly little human. You're a witch, and thus, you're in the clear. And once they see that, they'll report back to their masters and they'll leave you alone. You'll likely get a formal apology too."

"But I can't actually do magic without taking it first, and if something happens and we all get split up…"

"You'll grab hold of a Cold One and you use them instead," Kol replied. "But don't worry, nothing will happen and we'll leave Victoria to you. I have every faith in you that you can do this."

Bella slowly nodded. "And you said that too when I went to Jake."

"You wanted to go!"

"You could have said that I wasn't ready."

"But you are. It's just your mind that's saying that you're not."

"It's okay to be nervous for your first real fight with a bunch of Cold Ones, but you're going to be alright, Bella. We'll always keep an eye on you," Rebekah said encouragingly and squeezed her shoulder. "We're not going to turn back. Or would you rather have your father and his cops take care of this?"

"No."

"Then be brave when we leave this car, Bella. You'll be alright. Besides, with you being nervous isn't good for any of us, especially not Kol."

"Bekah!"

"What? You and Nik are always more sensitive to others, especially to those you care about so, suck it up, Bella, we're going to need Kol in his right mind for this."

Kol sighed as he parked the car. Bella had never seen them fighting before, and while they couldn't actually rip out hearts or snap necks to take care of the newborns, it wasn't going to be pretty. And should anything, _anything_, happen to Bella, he wasn't sure if he would be able to contain himself.

He really liked her, but she wasn't ready yet, was she? Especially after her encounter with him from two years ago. It wouldn't be a good thing, would it?

"See? He's already overthinking things because you're anxious. Man up, Bella," Rebekah said chipper as she got out of the car. "We have newborns to kill!"

Bella cautiously eyed Kol. "Is your sister always happy when it comes to this?"

"Not usually, but Cold Ones are quite easy to kill and doesn't really need any thinking, just brute strength," Kol explained with a sigh. "She has some anger issues to resolve. Boy trouble. Again."

"Should anyone I know be fearing for their lives?"

"Nah," he smiled at her. "It's some boy from Mystic Falls that she liked. No one important. Are you ready?"

"No? It's a bunch of raging newborns we're going up against."

"And unlike us, you can fight them from a distance by dropping them like flies then all we need to do is rip off their heads and start a big fire," he replied, encouragingly squeezing her leg. "Come, we'll find you a good vantage point."

"Wait, what? You're going to stay with me, right? I want to stay with you guys."

"Are you sure?"

Bella nodded as she got out of the car. "I'd like to stay near you."

"So I can fill you up, huh?"

"Feel me up?" Bella blinked at him. "Kol Mikaelson, you're a pervert." When she saw the look on his face, she smiled widely. "No, to feel safe. I don't want to be alone, no matter how fast you are. Or how good your hearing is. I am with you. This is my mess and I want to be there. With you."

"Are you sure?"

"Stop asking me that. Accept this somewhat sense of bravery and let us do this."

They walked to the area where the warehouse was where Klaus, Kol and Elijah had located the newborns in just a few days earlier, and the plan was to attack them from both sides. The front and the back. Myriam would be with Kol and Bella, while Rebekah, Elijah and Klaus went from the other side.

Bella trusted the Mikaelsons. She trusted that they knew how to handle things, but she wasn't sure if she could do this. However, this false sense of bravery that had ignited inside of her for the sake of the heightened emotions of the vampires around her made her move forward. She didn't HAVE to stick around with Kol. She only had to siphon a little because he was so powerful and it would stick with her for a good 30 minutes. But she felt safer with him.

And she was going to make it easier for everyone to fight the newborns by hopefully incapacitating most of them. It'd be like a bulldozer or something. Or they'd be the one getting flattened.

"Shut the doors, darling. I know that they're strong enough to kick it in, it's a psychological thing that would give us some more time," Kol whispered in her ear before launching himself at a group of newborns, as did Myriam and Bella was left standing by herself.

Bella quickly shut the doors and magically reinforced the walls so that nobody could escape and then felt a little lost for a moment until a newborn ran up to her. Startled, she jumped back and knocked the newborn out like she had done with past!Kol. And almost as if she hadn't done anything else in her life, it clicked. She shattered the newborn with her magic and continued with the rest of them until she was grabbed and pushed against a wall and her air knocked out of her lungs.

"Well, this just makes it easier for me to kill you," Victoria breathed in her face. "New friends? What happened to Edward? Doesn't matter, you don't deserve to be here."

Bella could feel her anxiety wanting to take over, but instead, she determinedly grabbed hold of Victoria's arm, feeling the magic of the Cold One makeup course through her veins. It was a similar rush than when she absorbed some of the magic of the wolves, but it was less chaotic. But it was more powerful. Bella could feel that, too. "Edward won't care if you kill me, Victoria," She said as she took a breath, stalling so she could get some more. The rush of the magic felt so good, she didn't want it to stop, but she also knew she was getting it from Queen Bitch, and that was bad. "So Eddie won't get hurt if you'd kill me, like he killed your mate, James."

"I don't care," Victoria hissed. "You're dead."

"Edward tore him to pieces and turned him into ash," Bella said in barely but a whisper. "Edward turned him into nothing."

"Shut your mouth!"

"Guess what?" Bella smirked as she projected her siphoned magic from Victoria out in the open, and she could feel herself unload the magic, losing control over it as she shattered Victoria, and all of the still fighting newborns along with her.

She wasn't sure how the Mikaelsons survived but she was glad that they did. This wasn't control. Again. She was absolutely positive that no person should have this much power.

Bella could still feel it coursing through her veins and when Kol approached her, she held her hands up and backed away. "Don't touch me. I lost control, this is bad, this is…"

"A job well done, darling," Kol said kindly as he took another step towards her. Oh, they were in trouble alright. She had gotten used to the magic from him, and she could handle that, but Cold One magic, and shifter magic, was something else. Bella looked like she was jonesing for more, or perhaps she was still dealing with the magic.

He'd been wrong in telling her to siphon from a Cold One. They truly needed help, because while he knew a lot about witches, siphoners were different. He could teach Bella spells, like he had, and some sort of control, but they needed to find the experts on this. He could tell that his family was afraid of her, but he had to push that aside. She needed help. "How about we go to Portland tonight?"

"We have school tomorrow," Bella replied as she scratched her arms. "And I'm fine. I think it's just because they're Cold Ones and they're practically bound together with some shitty magic that I might have over done it and… I'll just not touch them. Or the wolves. Ever again."

"Wait for it," Myriam muttered under her breath, loud enough for the vampires to hear, but not for the human in their midst.

Bella paused for a moment as she took a step away from Kol, observing the ash in the warehouse and realizing that she was responsible for it. Innocent lives. Lives that Victoria had manipulated into doing her bidding. Lives that could have been saved. Likely. "What would happen if we could have saved a few?"

"We'd have destroyed them anyway, Ducky," Rebekah replied as she warily looked at her brother's special interest. She wasn't going to explode, was she? "You've heard the stories, newborns are exceptionally volatile in their first year, there is no option to leave them be. Had they been our kind, perhaps. But not Cold Ones. They were gone as soon as they died and went into their painful transition. You ended their suffering."

"You did a good thing, Bella," Klaus added with a nod.

"And don't worry about school," Myriam smiled. "You'll graduate, whatever it takes, but, and no disrespect to Kol's abilities to teach a witch, you're out of your depth with this. Maybe the Gemini coven has their ways to deal with a magic overload, or perhaps they have records of other siphoners from before they were kicked out," she said as she calmly approached Bella and gently took her arm. "Which I doubt, because you're a siphoner surrounded by different kinds of magic and supernaturals around you, but maybe they can help you. I'll cover for you at the school and with your dad, but you and Kol need to find expert help to make you understand your ability to siphon magic more. There's only so much we know as your type is rare." Myriam then hugged her and gently squeezed her. "You're alright, Bella. You didn't kill anyone, just relieved them from their misery, and you're going to find out more about your kind of witch in Portland. With Kol. We wouldn't normally force you to do anything, but this is important, do you understand, Cherie?"

Bella slowly nodded. "You don't want me to do things that I will regret later."

"Or have the power consume you, power trips are a bitch to wean off from," Myriam grinned. "Absolute power consumes you."

"But I won't!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say. Let's go home, you can take a nice relaxing bath at our place while I go and get some of your essentials and then you and Kol can leave in the morning."

Fortunately, by the time they reached Forks, Bella was feeling back to her usual self, but the Mikaelsons still wouldn't allow her to go back home. Simply out of convenience.

The next morning she and Kol went to Portland to go to the head of the Gemini coven, Myriam had his address from some person and when they arrived at the spot almost three hours later, it was empty. It was a big, empty field. "Great," Bella said as she leaned against the car. "Now what?"

"They're supposed to be here," Kol said as he leaned back against the car as well, causing both of them to stare into open space. "Do I need to remind you that they're good at invisibility spells and illusions?"

"You think they hid an entire house? That's insane."

Kol eyed her before laughing and shaking his head. "They likely used the entire coven to obscure it, you could do it on your own." He then looked behind him and shrugged. "There's a car coming, maybe it's a member of the coven."

"You really think we'd get that lucky?"

"Why not?" Kol shrugged as he watched the car round the corner and let out a groan. "Well, I was wrong. The bad news is that at least two of them aren't particularly fond of me. But that's alright, I don't particularly like them, either."

"And the good news?"

"They brought a vampire hunter who knows a lot about the occult. And if they're here, something's here," Kol replied. "Stay behind me, Bella."

Bella looked at the people getting out of the car after the car rolled to a halt, the one who was on the phone immediately disconnected the call, while the two models had constipated looks on their faces. One had a backpack and a teddy bear was attached to it. What was going on? All three men didn't look too happy to be seeing Kol, like he had suggested, but what were they doing here?

Speaking of Kol, he looked tense. Perhaps even annoyed. Slightly afraid. It was obvious that he had a history with these men.

"Oh, great, it's the happy homicidal maniac," the dark haired model said sarcastically.

"How about you lot get back into your car and back to Mystic Falls?" Kol replied venomously. "I was here first."

"No, you weren't," the other model replied. "I was here four months ago, nothing's changed. Just a wide open space. Grass. So unless the coven is made out of grass, there's nothing here."

"Why are you here?"

"That's none of your business," the other one retorted angrily. "What matters is that you're here, and you need to go."

"Just because nothing is here doesn't mean something isn't here," Bella said as she tugged on Kol's shirt to remind him that she was still here. "Come on, they're just going to have to wait until we're done."

"Oh, no, no no, missy," the dark haired one replied. "We're here for time sensitive business."

"Like what?"

"We believe the Gemini coven have a device called the Ascendant. It'll help free our friend from a prison world of their making," the man who got off the phone earlier replied, eyeing his friends. "Alaric Saltzman, these two are Damon and Stefan Salvatore."

Bella blinked at the two brothers. She had heard the stories and then let out a snort. "Is your friend safe?"

"For now, yes."

Bella nodded then in conclusion. "Then Kol and I are going first," she said resolutely before pulling Kol along with her and started to walk across the grass until they bumped into a barrier of some sort. Placing her hand on the barrier, she could feel the powerful magic run through it and she sensed that it was a cloaking spell.

Deciding not to take it down, she grabbed hold of Kol's hand and pulled him along as she stepped through the barrier, revealing a big house, and Kol not with her. Panicking a little, she turned around to see Kol was flat on his ass in the grass with a frustrated look on his face, before looking defeated. "I'll be fine," she said to him with a smile, but the look on his face told her that he couldn't hear her.

She took her phone out to send a message to him when a man appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. "I didn't know I had guests." Bella nearly dropped her phone before putting it in her back pocket and looked up. "You must be a witch if you can walk through the barrier like that."

"I'm Bella Swan, sir, and I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I could really use your help."

"Swan?"

Bella nodded.

The man sighed and nodded before pointing towards the house. "Come on in, let's talk. Your vampire friends can stay away."

"Just one of them, he's my friend and-"

"An Original. The one who loves witches, I know," the man smiled at her. "But he also has a temper and I don't trust him to control it during our conversation. Come, I'll make you some tea."


	11. Chapter 11

She entered the home, a hallway leading to various rooms. There were several pictures up the wall as the man lead her inside and pointed at the couch for her to sit down on. Five minutes later, he returned with some tea and sat down on a chair. "You must be wondering who I am."

"I introduced myself, it would be nice to know your name, too," Bella smiled at him.

"My name is Joshua Parker, I'm the leader of the Gemini coven," he replied. "And forgive me for rushing you inside, it's been a while since we had someone from the Swans find us for answers. They're usually male, though."

"So you know my family?"

Mr. Parker nodded. "A long long time ago, they were ousted from our coven and only the tiniest connection exists to our coven to help those who seek answers about their magic," he then let out a breath. "But for you to be in the company of the Original who loves witches, has me worried."

"Why?" Bella asked curiously. "From what I've been told, he's the most knowledgeable about witches and their magic than anyone of his family and he always treats them with the utmost respect. He was my friend before we found out that I have magic."

"As much as he loves witches, he will only be their friend as long he can use them, as long as they're useful to him, usually leaving the witch in question dead."

"He's not like that with me."

"Yet."

"You don't know him, I do," Bella said a bit more resolute. "And to be honest, I come here for help, and you only insult the one who's traveled with me to make sure I stay safe."

"You wish to talk about safety? I'm responsible for the entire coven. If you found me, then others can find me as well. Like the other vampires out there. What do you want?"

"I don't know what they want, but again, I need help understanding my magic. I'm not here to hurt you or your coven, I'm merely running into some issues and I've heard that you have experience with my kind of magic."

"Which is?"

"I've been told I'm a siphoner."

Joshua paled then. "Like your distant relatives."

"Perhaps, but I might be different."

"Your kind are leaches. An abomination. We don't want your kind in our coven, that's why we ousted them."

"Which is fair. You're purists, I can understand that. But still, you'll have a lot more knowledge about this power than I do, and I'm having some issues," Bella replied evenly. This man was hostile towards her, she could do the same thing back. It was a good thing that she took some magic off of Kol while they were walking through the barrier, she could still feel it inside of her. "Like… when I get my magic off of a willing Original or one of their sirelings, I can control it. However, I'm involved in some shit that requires contact with shifter wolves and vampires of the Cold One variety and then my magic becomes unstable."

"You're better off not taking the magic out of others. You could kill people."

"I have. A bunch of newborn Cold Ones who were going to kill me and anyone in their way," Bella replied. "So please, tell me why it's harder to control my magic when I siphon off a Cold One or the wolves."

"Why should I?"

"Because I want to help people with my gift and I can't do that when it's out of control. You may think I'm an abomination, and that's fine, but please tell me what's wrong with me and I'll be out of your hair."

"I'm not going to help you, and seeing as you're not drinking the tea, I'm sorry," Joshua said as he started to mutter a spell, but Bella was fast enough to deflect it. "What?"

Angrily, Bella got to her feet. "Do you honestly believe I came with you without making sure I had the means to protect myself?" She fumed. "I don't know what the fuck has gotten into you, but aren't witches supposed to help each other? I come here for _help_ because your coven are experts when it comes to siphoners because you keep kicking them out. I didn't even want to come here, you know, but that Original witch-lover out there, and his family, wanted me to get help because they're afraid something will go wrong with me."

"Oh, it will," Joshua spat. "My own son killed four of my children, wounded three of them, because he had learned that my wife and I kept trying for more children to have another set of twins so that one of them could become the leader of our coven. He was an abomination. There was a reason why we ousted people like you, and I had been a fool to keep my son around."

Bella blinked at him. "Wow."

"The safety of this coven is paramount. Once the surviving twins are of age, they will merge and my daughter Liv will become our new leader."

"What happened to your son?"

"He's gone."

"I'm sorry to hear that you've had so many issues with your family for your beloved coven. It must have been hard."

"It has been 18 years. I can still hear them all run around this house, laughing."

"Again, sorry for your loss. I can imagine you don't want to help me."

"No, I want to kill you," Joshua said as he shot another spell at her, causing her to double over in pain. She couldn't do anything back, she hadn't taken that much from Kol but with this guy wanting to kill her, she wished she had taken more. "There's no place for you, all you siphoners bring is death and destruction."

When Joshua got closer, Bella grabbed his ankle and took some of his magic to push him away from her before scrambling to her feet and nearly falling outside the house as Joshua had come for her again. She was nowhere near the barrier to weaken it or to get rid of it. "I came here in respect!" Bella let out a whimper as Joshua flattened her to the ground. She managed to get her hand from underneath her and knocked him out.

She gasped for air as she got back to her feet and stumbled towards the barrier and fell through it, right into Kol's arms. "He's a dick."

"Are you alright?" Kol asked worriedly as he helped her to her feet.

"I will be," she nodded as she looked over to the two other vampires and the human."Let them figure out a way to get in there themselves, I have all that we need," she replied, a small smile on her lips as they walked towards the car. "Well, snippets, but the internet is a wonderful place."

"You need to take it easy," Kol said as he helped her in the car.

"I'll be fine." Kol didn't hold back when driving off, making Bella get smushed against the chair and when he hit a bump, she let out another whimper.

"You said you'd be fine," Kol grinned as he didn't slow down on their way to the hotel he had booked while she'd been inside the house.

"Asshole."

"So what did you learn?"

"That the Gemini are dicks, that they think of siphoners as abominations. And that their current leader cares more about the coven than his own family. He lost four children because his siphoner son went mental."

"What?"

"So would you if you discovered that your parents try to have another set of twins because they don't think that you'd make a good leader."

"I don't want to be a leader," Kol blinked.

"No, but in the past, you were jealous and angry at Klaus, just imagine that feeling."

Kol was quiet as he turned another corner towards the hotel. "Betrayal by those you love and are supposed to love you sucks."

"What if you were promised something and you didn't get it?"

"I'm sort of alright with my impulses now, darling. But in the past, I would have gone on a killing spree."

Bella nodded as she braced herself for another turn at full speed. "I think that's what happened with Parker's son."

"Perhaps, but you don't know that," Kol replied with a shrug. "But don't worry, we'll find someone else who can help you. It'll just take a while longer."

Bella sighed. She had an idea but she had no idea if Kol was going to agree to it, because it meant that she'd possibly put herself in harm's way. "You and Myriam told me yourself that someone like me is rare."

"True," he parked in the parking lot of the hotel. "But we'll find someone, I promise," he said as he helped her out of the car with a smirk on his face. "Would you like to have some of my blood now, darling?"

Bella sighed and nodded.

"Not that I'm pressing you or anything, but I hate to see you in pain and my blood is an easy fix," he said as he walked with her to their hotel room, carrying their bags. "You don't have to suffer unnecessarily."

Tiredly, she ran a hand through her hair and nodded. "But I'm afraid that I'll go haywire with the magic."

"Nonsense, darling, you can handle that."

"And you said I could handle the wolves' magic. And the Cold Ones," she countered angrily. "What if I'm losing control altogether? What if I'll turn into Mr. Parker's son? What if I get so consumed with the magic that I like completely lose it? What if the Gemini coven is right to push siphoners out of their coven because they can't handle the magic?"

"You won't become like that, you don't have it in you," Kol said as he opened the door of her hotel room and put her bag inside. He grabbed one of the glasses, bit his hand and put some of his blood inside of it, setting it on the desk. "Get some rest. I'm going to find something to drink and I'll find us a nice place to eat later, okay?"

And with that, Kol left. Just like Bella had wanted. Oh, it was likely she was going to lose control over her magic eventually especially if she'd get into touch with wolves and Cold Ones again. But she needed to do research, so she could propose her plan to Kol over dinner.

She grabbed some orange juice from the minibar and mixed it with Kol's blood before knocking it back and grabbing her laptop out of her bag before connecting to the internet and started to do her research.

Kol knocked on her door a few hours later, and she opened the door with a big smile on her face. "I don't trust that smile," he said playfully.

"Shall we order room service instead of going out?"

"Why? I found a great restaurant."

"Because I found out what happened to the Parkers and did some more digging," she smiled at him as she pulled him inside the room before sitting back down on her bed with her laptop. "It's amazing what you can find on google these days, news articles are public and if you pay for it you can even see the census and stuff."

"Bella, we'll just find someone else."

She looked at him and shook her head. "20 years ago, the Parker family lived in that house. Father Joshua, his wife Joanne, twins Malachai and Josette, Joey, Patricia, Patrick, John and twins Olivia and Lucas."

"That is a lot of children, not even my parents were that mad," he replied as he sat down in a chair and grabbed the menu for ordering room service.

"And then I texted Myriam, asking what she knew about the Gemini coven when it came to twins. I mean, Gemini means twins, so it must be pretty important, right?"

"Right."

"To become the leader of the coven, like Joshua, twins have to perform a merge ceremony when they're 22. The strongest one practically absorbs the weaker one of the twin and the weakest dies."

"That's not surprising, I've encountered a coven back in the day where they had to sacrifice one of their own family to become leader. It was all about who was the most ruthless."

Bella shuddered at the thought. "So imagine that you're a teenage boy and you learn about this. And you learn that they're rooting for your twin to survive the merge because you're not capable of performing magic on your own…"

"I'd kill everyone in my path."

She smiled at him then. This was the sentiment she'd been hoping to hear from him. "18 years ago, Malachai Parker slaughtered his younger siblings. His twin Josette survived, and Olivia and Lucas, but their locations are unknown. Malachai disappeared from the face of the earth. Can't find much about the whole Parker family after he went berserk. But from what I could gather from my experience with Papa Parker was that the coven came first, not family."

It was then when it clicked in Kol's head. "No. Your future self gave you rules. Going back that far is close to when you were born."

"I'll be here. And I'm just going to talk to him. See if he can help me."

Kol pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think that's a bad idea. He killed his family, Bella."

"And you and your family killed thousands," Bella pointed out. "I'm merely going to see if he's willing to help, what he was like before everything." She turned the laptop around and smiled. "I know where he went to school? I could go there? Safe place?"

"What if you get stuck?"

"I won't. I know what to do now. And I'm going back with a purpose, not because I'm afraid or overwhelmed with magic," she replied confidently as she took the menu out of his hands and looked at the menu. "Are you hungry?"

"I just fed."

"Then I'll eat in 1996," she nodded as she put the unappetizing menu away and looked at him. "You're not going to stop me?"

Kol let out a groan. "I should," he replied as he looked at her. "But, this might be the only chance you're going to get to talk to another siphoner and maybe understand what's going on. As you said, we said your kind is rare." He then let out a sigh as he moved to sit down next to her on the bed. "However, this will be our secret and we won't tell Nik or Myriam. And don't force your stay over there. If it becomes strenuous, you're coming back."

"I will."

"Not everyone can be saved, you know that, right?"

"I'm not going to save him, Kol. I'm going for information."

Kol let out a snort and shook his head. "I want to wager that if you return, you're going to say that you want to go back because he could use a friend and that you were going to give him that."

"Nope. You'll lose."

"Am I?" Kol asked teasingly. "You have a big, bleeding heart, Bella Swan. And your danger radar is far off."

"Yep, you're going to lose," she said with determination. "If I find out he needs a friend, I'll get him a puppy," Bella added smugly.

"For him to kill."

"No!"

"Well, he might."

"You're the worst."

"Nah, Myriam's worse than me," Kol grinned as he held out his hand. "Ready?"

~o.O.o~

It was a good thing that she looked young enough, still, to be in high school. And it was flipping awesome that she could still direct herself in time _and_ place so that she could go wherever she wanted.

She took some time to look around on campus, and when lunch break happened, she happily joined the queue to get herself something to eat as well, the food looked a lot more appetizing than the hotel menu had done.

After getting her tray, she looked around and found that it wasn't really hard to find Malachai Parker. He was sitting by himself, not even at a table but in the corner and anxiously looking around while he ate his food. Just by looking at him, she was confused as how he'd end up killing most of his family in just a few years. He was supposed to be around her age, 18.

Bella made her way over to him and sat down next to him before digging into her food. "Hey," she greeted him.

"Uh…" Malachai's cheeks turned beet red and he tried to move further into the corner. "Why are you talking to me?"

"Because I'm new to this school. Can't I be the new kid who likely does the stupidest things? I mean, there must be a reason why you're all by yourself…" she popped a grape into her mouth as she looked at him. "Let me guess… you're a nerd, but at the lowest rank. You love those Japanese cartoons or something?"

"No," he huffed, shaking his head. "My sister and the rest of the family have been telling everyone to stay away from me, makes it hard to finish school."

"I'm not afraid," Bella smiled at him and held out her hand. "I'm Bella."

"I'm Kai," he said as he shook her hand before his eyes grew wide. "You're a witch?" he whispered at her. "And you're sitting right next to me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Kai," Bella said smugly as she took a sip of her drink before looking around and sighed. "How did you know?"

"Because I'm one too," Kai grinned.

Bella bit her lip as she looked at him. "Wanna skip school and do magic?"

Kai's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hell yeah!"


	12. Chapter 12

They were walking in the nearby woods that Bella had spotted before in her present. Nothing special about the woods, just trees and leaves on the ground. The sun was coming through the trees just a little making it look like… well, any ordinary forest. Kai shoved his hands into his pockets. "I have a confession to make."

"What's that?" Bella asked as she finished off the sandwich she was eating.

"I can't actually do magic. My family tells everyone to stay away from me and I'm basically the black sheep."

"Oh, me neither, but I took some magic from someone before I came here," she said as a matter of factly, making Kai stop in his tracks. "You want some?" Bella smiled as she held out her hand. "Don't take it all, but just a little to do some magic. We can share."

"Oh, I couldn't…" Kai just stared at her hand as if she had offered him the holy grail.

"Why not?"

"Don't you ever get that rush when you're on magic? Like… you want to do everything and prove that you aren't a failure? And when the magic is gone, you still feel it lingering underneath your skin? Like fire? Or a thousand ants."

Bella nodded as she sat down on a tree-stump. "All the time. Well, not from the source I usually get my magic from, but from other magical creatures."

"Other?"

Bella nodded. "You know how there are Traveler witches, right? Back in the day they got a bit too greedy and they turned into these… marbled kind of statues. Vampires. Their blood turned into acid, sparkle in the sun…"

"Fairytales."

"No, true deal," Bella laughed as she showed Kai the scar on her wrist. "There's still a bit of their venom inside of that scar, but it's not really magical so otherwise I could have used that… When I try to siphon from them… my magic goes haywire and I feel like I'm losing my mind."

"I have that with all magic. And you know why? It's not our own magic, we never know what we can expect when we take from people. Or how much…" Kai let out a snort then. "My coven hates witches like us and they usually get kicked out but I'm only here because Jo and I are the future leaders of our coven. We have to merge in a few years."

Bella looked at him with a disgusted look on her face.

"Oh, no, not like… oh gross!" Kai rubbed his eyes. "Mental image… no! It's a spell."

"Oh, okay then."

"But they don't want me anywhere near them, afraid that I could end up killing them or something."

"That is bullshit."

"Yeah well, what do your parents do when you're jonesing for magic?"

"I don't… but I had to walk it off when I got into contact with those Traveler vampires."

Kai hummed. "They always tell me that I should be exposed to more kinds of magic… kinds of witches, but they won't let me."

She was still holding out her hand. "Take some. It'll be alright," Bella smiled at him. "I'm here, I can take it back if it's too much. Show me things, Kai."

Kai took her hand and she could feel the new sensation of someone siphoning magic out of her. "Wow, that feels… weird."

"Strangely sexual?"

Bella withdrew her hand and shrugged. "I dunno, just weird."

"It's quite stable, this magic… where did you get it from?"

"A friend."

Kai smiled then. "My coven is great at invisibility spells, want me to teach you?"

"Invisibility?"

Kai nodded. "It's a glorified cloaking spell but it actually sticks when you move around and when you want out, you're out."

"Alright, then I will teach you how to knock someone out without harming them."

"What's the fun in that?" Kai whined. "Don't you know something more exciting?"

"You can get what I can give you. I'm new to this. I mean… I haven't learned that much," Bella replied. "The people I'm with have a lot of knowledge about witches but not about… well, siphoners. I don't know what I'm capable of."

"That sucks!"

"I know!"

"Well, let's stick together then. You and me versus the world," Kai nodded. "Alright, so everything with magic is about the intention and a little help from words, yeah? Imagine you want to turn yourself invisible and say _Invisique_."

"_Invisique?_"

Kai was impressed. "Wow, you actually did it first try."

"Nah, I'm not invisible."

"Yeah you are," Kai laughed as he reached out for her but couldn't find her. "Honestly, you're gone."

"No, I'm not," Bella said as she appeared before Kai again.

"Are you sure you don't know much about magic and spells?" Kai playfully raised a brow. "Because that was quite difficult to do, you know. Took me and my sister months."

"I don't know… Spells do come easy but… I don't know. I just don't understand why."

"No worries, I'll help you. I'm not saying I can do a lot, seeing as my family tries to keep me away from books and grimoires, but I can try," Kai shrugged. "I'm definitely going to try to verify that Traveler story with my dad, seeing if it's true or not."

Bella nodded and saw someone walk up to them with an angry look on their face. "Friend of yours?"

"My sister Josette," Kai sighed. "Party time is over."

"Reach out with your hand and wiggle your fingers some as you think of wanting them to lose consciousness," Bella said as she showed him the movement. "She'll go to sleep and fall to the ground," she replied before realizing it was not the best idea to tell this to a sociopath, but this boy was bitter. Like Kol.

And damnit, Kol had been right. She wanted to help Kai.

"Like this?" Kai did what Bella showed him and was surprised that Josette went down. "How? Surely it must be the stable magic you've siphoned. Surely!"

"Maybe, I don't know," Bella replied before she started to feel the tug to snap back. "You should head back to school, I'll be back in a bit… I need to use the little girl's room."

"Will you be back?"

"I hope so," Bella smiled at him. "You're fun to hang out with."

"Same to you," he smiled at her before looking at his sister. "How long will she be down for?"

"Eh, another 15 minutes. Time enough for you to hurry back to school and for me to get the hell out of dodge," Bella replied as she started to walk away from him.

"Hey, do you have a pager?"

Bella froze at that question before finding an answer. "My parents think that pagers are for adults. I'm clearly not an adult yet because I'm always getting into trouble."

"I'll get you one."

"Oh, you don't have to."

"What? If you don't have a pager, you're not one of the cool kids," Kai replied. "Besides, I already have one for emergencies," he winked at her. "See you around, Bella, maybe tomorrow?"

"Yep, maybe!"

~o.O.o~

Bella returned only seconds after having disappeared with a frustrated look on her face. At least she was safe and she didn't look hurt. "What's wrong?" Kol asked before her face changed and lit up with a big smile. "No, you can't keep him."

"He's lonely, he's not allowed to be around people or items with magic because they're afraid of him."

"No."

"Fine, he'd be in his forties now anyway. But I am going back to give him a friend and learn more. Strangely, he was really open and talkative with me - a complete stranger!"

"You just have that effect, darling. Now, did you at least eat?"

Bella nodded. "And I told Kai about the kind of vampires that were an accident of the Travelers, so maybe next time when I go back he has some news."

"Did he have an explanation as to why you react so strongly on their magic?"

"It's likely because it's a different kind of magic than I'm used to, but he wasn't sure, either. So yeah."

"What is it with these witches? Why are they so useless?" Frustrated, Kol ran a hand through his hair and watched as Bella grabbed her laptop. "What are you going to do?"

"If I'm going to be a teenager hanging out more in 1996, it's best to brush up on my popular culture."

"Ugh," Kol let out a groan. "Are we really going to do this?"

Bella nodded. "And I want to take an enchanted item back with me next time I go, so he can use that for magic."

"Bella!" Kol whined.

"What?"

"He likely won't ever give you the information you need, so why don't we just move on? Let things go and we'll just find us some Cold One we can keep prisoner for you to get your magic off. I'm sure your friendly wolves would love to help out with getting you used to their magic so you won't be overwhelmed."

"But what if that's not the reason? What if there's a completely different reason?"

"Maybe some things need to remain unexplained."

"Kol!" Now it was her turn to let out a whine and she grabbed a pillow to hit him with it. "So far, the magic of the wolves got me into trouble by getting me stuck when I freaked out, and taking magic from Victoria worked like a drug. I could feel the magic underneath my skin, even as it left me. Like an addict. Like… I needed…"

"Another drink?"

Bella nodded. "It's terrible. Kai explained the same feeling to me, but that's already when he's had some normal to him magic, and I think that it's like this for him because they don't expose him to magic anymore. I'm thinking that if we help him with magic and be at ease with it without getting withdrawal symptoms, we'd be good. I just…" she let out a breath. "I just can't leave him like that."

"Bella, he's not your problem."

"And I'm not yours, but yet, here we are."

"He will kill people in just a couple of years."

"Yeah, and?" she shot at him. "We've been over this, Kol. You've done shittier things out of spite, out of hate and perhaps even out of love and loyalty than Kai has done in this particular time. _Maybe_ we can help him and he won't have to kill his family."

"And what if _you_ can't?"

"Then at least I've tried. You turned your life around, didn't you?"

"A bit," Kol replied with a slight nod. "But it took Myriam years."

"Well, then maybe he can too. And seeing as he's not a vampire with heightened emotions, maybe all it takes is a friend he can do magic with," Bella countered with a shrug. "Besides, I think I can make multiple trips in one day so we won't be here for long. Maybe he can teach me a thing or two. Please, Kol. He's the only one who understands how I work."

Oh, he understood her all too well. It wasn't a great feeling to feel alone. He had felt like that for several times during his long life, right until Myriam entered the life of the Mikaelsons. Myriam made sure he was included, felt included, whenever his siblings decided he was free to leave his box. Myriam was the reason why he and his siblings were getting along now, although Elijah was still very much an ass.

Bella reminded him a little of Myriam in that way. Reaching out with that big, beautiful heart of hers. "Yeah, alright, but you're not going back tonight. Tomorrow. And I'll find you some trinkets to imbue with some magic. Rest."

"But…"

"Bella, if you truly want to go and make multiple trips a day, you'd better listen to me and rest up," Kol said with a stern voice. "I can't do much to help you but at least I can make sure you're well rested to do it," he got off the bed and smiled at her. "So you're going to rest and I'll see you in the morning. I'm in the room next door."

"Okay."

"No time traveling."

"No magic," she replied. "Well, a little but nowhere near enough to make the trip."

"Good," he nodded and headed for the door. "Goodnight, Bella."

"Night, Kol."

~o.O.o~

"So, my pager is 555-HIKAI, it took me so long to get that one, but I'm so proud of it," Kai grinned as he handed her her pager. "Yours is 555-BELLA."

Bella blinked at that. "How did you manage that?"

"I had some help from my witchy sister. She did something our father doesn't like and I-"

"Blackmailed her into helping you?"

"Pretty much," Kai nodded.

"For someone you've only met yesterday?"

"Yep," Kai nodded again, popping his P. "Because you're like me. And we need to stick together. You're not like anyone around me, always telling me 'no', 'get away', 'you're an abomination, Kai'."

"You mean I'm nice?"

"Aren't you?"

"Well, I am…"

"Good," Kai nodded again as he leaned back against the tree stump they were sitting against. "Because I have no idea who you are and there isn't someone named Bella going to our school."

"Who said I was going to your school?"

"You had lunch at our school yesterday."

"And?" Bella laughed. "I was hungry and I was dying for a good sandwich."

"Yeah, but you can't be any older than me."

Bella let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not. I have to admit… I kinda lied? We did a scrying spell to find another siphoner, there was a medium involved to help pinpoint it and she described you. We truly are that desperate to find someone like me because we don't know anything."

"You're lying, but that's okay, you're not a threat. You're this tiny cute little thing," Kai replied as he put his hands behind his head and stretched himself. "I checked into your claim last night, that the Travelers accidentally created vampires. They're called Cold Ones and they're very dangerous. The coven got into contact with them at some point, a friendly Cold One called Peter Whitlock who told them everything about the Cold Ones."

She felt her heart stop for a second. "Peter Whitlock?"

"You know him?"

"I know _of_ him. The Cold Ones I encountered told me that he was bad news."

"And still they allowed that scar to happen," Kai nodded towards her wrist. "But yes, you're right, their magic is tainted, unstable. It's likely because you still have a trace of it inside of you that you respond so wildly on it. But you're pretty much on your own with this, aren't you?"

Bella nodded. "I'll just stay away from them as well as I can."

"Why? Are there Cold Ones in the area, now?"

"No, no, don't worry," Bella assured him as she placed a hand on his arm. "I'm actually safer here at the moment until I go back and then I risk getting killed."

"What?"

"Nothing to worry about," Bella replied and squeezed his arm. "I'll crush them with my magic," she winked at him. "Eventually. When I have more of an understanding of my magic and such."

Kai was shocked to hear that. "You're not worried you'll be killed by a supernatural being that's far more stronger than you are?"

Bella shrugged. "I was, at first, but circumstances changed. Although…" Bella thought for a moment and sighed. "Yeah, no, I'm terrified. These guys are the oldest of them all, they have an army to protect themselves… And I have myself. And my friends."

"The same friends who provide you with stable magic?"

She nodded as she took a trinket out of her pocket. She and Kol had made sure that everything she put some of her and Kol's magic in wasn't going to be traceable to their hotel in Portland. In the future. Kol had a lot of fun teaching Bella how to transfer magic into an object, especially considering she only wanted a tiny bit to be transferred. "Anyway, I have to go again. I got you something that I think you might like," she smiled as she placed the bolt in Kai's hand.

Kai frowned as he looked at the bolt and then at Bella. "Is there magic in this?"

"Yep, only a tiny bit though, but I thought we could share the magic, because I think it's not fair that you don't have access to it."

Kai pocketed the bolt and looked at her. "Message me when you get back?"

"Well, when do you want me to come back?"

"The idea of you going back to the danger you were in is a bit… can I help? Or maybe I can get my dad and the coven to help, I'm sure he-"

"Don't worry about me, I'm safe, for now," she assured him. "So, when next?"

"Well, not tomorrow. I'll be indisposed at home," he sighed deeply. "Lectures. Magic lessons, hey, you could come by the house instead! Show the fam that there is such a thing as well-behaved siphoners!"

Bella scrunched up her nose. "No thanks. I'll see you on Monday then," she replied as she got to her feet and started to walk away.

"Can I walk you home?"

"Nope," Bella shook her head. "See you around, Kai."

~o.O.o~

They were in Portland for over a month, in which she kept traveling back to Kai to find things, with the occasional day off for her and Kol to do something fun. They went to the arcade, to the movies, some great restaurants and visited the Pittock Mansion.

Bella was so lucky with Kol, even though he had objected to this idea. And they basically had their suspicions confirmed and nothing else. He wasn't happy that Bella wanted to keep going back to build the friendship with Kai, and Kol admitted to himself that he was jealous because at this point, Kai and Bella were friends for longer than he was with Bella. Jealousy. He hated feeling jealous, and it was likely that she didn't tell him everything that happened.

They were on their way back to Forks when Myriam called that they had to go to Mystic Falls as a siphoner had popped up and was wreaking havoc in the small town. Kol outwardly groaned at that news, but maybe it was someone new and with more information that they could use.

When they arrived at the nearest airport, Bella received a message on her pager with a phone number and the only one who knew the number of her pager was Kai. "No way," she mumbled as she grabbed her phone and dialed the number received.

"_Bella, is that you?"_

"Kai? What the hell?"

"_Oh, good, I thought you'd forgotten about me or had thrown away the pager... 18 years is a long time… uhh… I did something stupid which lead to prison… which then lead me to come back and I did something stupid again… I need your help. I get it now, uncontrollable magic… And I might have a hostage."_

"Where are you?"

"_Mystic Falls, Virginia, how soon can you be here?"_

Bella sighed as she looked at Kol who had a murderous look on his face. "We were already on our way, hang tight."

"He's the siphoner in Mystic Falls?" Kol asked after Bella hung up. "Let's just go home instead. Mystic Falls is terrible."

Bella looked up at Kol and sighed. "Then you go home, I'll drive to Mystic Falls."

"It's over 5000 miles!"

"He's a friend in need!" Bella countered. "Besides, he's not even supposed to be here, so something must have happened to him. He said he went to prison."

"Yeah, and he's an adult male and he'll be fine," Kol argued. He really didn't want to go to Mystic Falls and knowing that the siphoner was Kai, was the perfect excuse not to go.

"He didn't sound like it," Bella replied softly. "Can't we just go? And if he doesn't need me we'll go home. But I'd do the same for you."

Kol let out a breath. Fine. Sure. For Bella. Because yes, she'd likely do the same for him. But first, he needed to kill something. "Give me five minutes. You don't want me on a plane like this."

He didn't like Kai already.


	13. Chapter 13

Bella noticed that on the way from the airport to Mystic Falls that Kol was getting antsy. He had told her the stories about Mystic Falls, and she could imagine why. Even with him being an Original vampire and unkillable, he was also insecure about things. And he had a severe dislike for the two Salvatore brothers and the two Gilberts in that town. Not to mention, the witch Bonnie. They were fun playthings, but that was all.

Bella figured that he was more confident of himself in dealing with them under Klaus' wing, but now that he was going there on his own, she could imagine he'd find that annoying. "You know, if it's easier… I could just turn you invisible and you can come out whenever you feel like it. They won't have to know you're here."

Kol seemed to consider that for a moment. "Could I beat someone while invisible?"

"No, that would break the spell, unless you're both invisible."

Kol blinked at her. "That's ridiculous. Who made that up?"

Bella shrugged as they drove into Mystic Falls. The trees reminded her of Forks, but it looked more luscious and dense here. Mystic Falls looked prettier than Forks, and when they drove into the center, it definitely looked more beautiful than Forks. She could see why people would want to live here. It was a true southern little town with a nice square and beautiful buildings.

"I hate this bloody town," Kol muttered as he parked the car in front of the local restaurant that looked quite deserted for this time of day. "He might be in there," he said as he pointed at it. "The Grill is usually populated at this time."

"It's a good start as any… if he's not there I'll call him again," Bella looked Kol over for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Kol snarled. "Let's get this over with and go home," he said as he got out of the car and Bella followed him towards the door of the Grill.

"Don't let him touch you," Bella warned him. "But if he's truly overwhelmed, he might not have a taste for your magic anyway. He can be a little bit greedy sometimes."

"I'll be fine," Kol replied. "I've got you." And that was strange. Because when it came to a siphoner, he already knew he was going to be outnumbered because all they had to do was grab a hold of him and weaken him to defeat him. He couldn't be killed but they could do some damage. Bella was his best defense. He was just there in case _she_ needed some magic. And to make sure she wasn't going to be harmed.

When they entered the grill, he could smell the burnt flesh in the room. Not animal flesh, no, human. Dead flesh. His eyes fell onto Elena Gilbert who was unconscious in a chair and her wrists were bound. Vervained. But no sign of Bella's friend. Since when was she a vampire?

"Jesus," Bella said as she ran over to the girl and wanted to check her over, but Kol stopped her. "What?"

"That's Elena Gilbert, let her steam a little, it's fun," Kol smirked as he looked around and he could hear some clanging in the kitchen. "He's in the kitchen."

"Isn't she in pain?"

"Apparently she's a vampire now, she'll be fine. Go see your friend, let me gloat a little. Perhaps take a picture to send to Niklaus," Kol grinned as he took out his phone and pointed towards the kitchen.

Bella sighed as she went to find Kai. She was going to have to do a lot of explaining. "Kai?"

"Bella! Oh my God, I'm feeling sooo good! Although my magic is-" Kai ran towards her with an excited puppy look on his face. "Wait. You haven't aged a day."

"Neither have you," she pointed out. "What happened?"

He took her hand and brought her with him to the things he was cooking. "Well. You know how my dad has this idea that the coven is more important than family, right?"

"Yes…" Oh, she had encountered the man a month and a half ago. He wasn't a pleasant figure.

"I figured out why they kept having children, my parents," Kai said as he stirred the sauce he was making. "They didn't want me to become the next leader of the Gemini, because I was 'unstable' and a 'maniac'. They wanted Josette to become the leader but they also realized that I was stronger and because of my abomination I could easily overpower her. They had Lucas and Olivia so that they could merge when they would celebrate their 22nd birthday and one of them would become the new leader of the Gemini."

Bella leaned against one of the counters and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him. "What did you do?" She already knew what he did. He slaughtered his family.

"I killed almost everyone," he admitted. "But wouldn't you? Lucas or Olivia would take away my birthright!"

"This is a judgment-free zone, you know that. It just doesn't sound like you, that's all."

"So Josette then agreed to merge with me," Kai continued before breaking out in a big smile. "The entire coven was with us. Which was strange, but so satisfying. They'd see their new leader being born. And then… nothing happened. Jo had put her magic away and they locked me away in a prison. I came out a few days ago. I'm going to make Jo merge with me."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Buuuuut, those pesky travelers were here a few months ago and they had put an anti-magic barrier around Mystic Falls, keeping all the supernaturals out. Guess what I did?"

"You absorbed it all."

"Yep," Kai nodded so fast that Bella was afraid that his head would fall off. "I can't control my magic. My spells misfire. I'm going to use Elena for target practise. She's Damon's girlfriend and ohh, I don't like Damon."

Bella let out a snort then. "Neither does my friend who's currently admiring your handiwork."

"You brought a friend?"

"I did," Bella nodded.

"The same friend who supplied you with magic?"

"Kai, you're not going to take magic from him," Bella said sternly. "You're already bursting with it."

Kai blinked at her for a second before focusing on the food again. "Of course I'm not. I'm just going to thank him for his magic all those years ago. Now, care to explain why you look not a day over the last time I saw you?"

"Sure, but you might want a drink."

Kai hummed and nodded. "Food's almost ready. Find us a bottle of good red wine. And the story better be good, you hear?"

"It will be," Bella smiled at him before heading to the bar to find glasses and their most expensive bottle of red wine. "How's the gloating going?"

"Nik's loving the pictures I'm sending him," Kol grinned before he saw Elena stir. "Oh, she's coming around."

"Oh no she isn't," Kai said as he expertly balanced plates in his hands like a waiter and had a free hand left to knock her out with the spell that Bella had taught him. "Oh, great. That went well. Anything could happen, you know, I could have accidentally make her explode and then we'd have guts for dinner," he didn't miss a beat as he set the plates down to walk over to Kol to size him up. "He's not much, is he, Bella?"

Bella sucked in a breath as she shook her head. "Play nice, Kai. I told Kol to play nice, so you're going to play nice as well."

Kai hummed and nodded before extending his hand. "Kai Parker, thank you for being there for Bella."

"Kol Mikaelson," Kol said as he shook Kai's hand, before quickly withdrawing it. "She told you I'm off limits."

Kai shrugged. "I could try, right?"

"No."

"Fine, fine," Kai shrugged again as he sat down and pointed at the other two chairs close to him. "We're sitting all the way here because I have a little surprise in store for Elena, but you know, dig in. I love to cook and after spending 18 years in nearly every restaurant in the States, I think I've honed my craft, sort to speak. Don't worry, it's not poisoned or anything, I'll be eating it as well and you know, I can really understand the whole extra-magic kinda thing now. It's such a rush!"

"I can take some from you?" Bella offered.

"No, I'm going to get a grip on this so I can help you," Kai said determinedly. "So, your turn. Storytime!"

She sighed as she took a sip of her wine. "I didn't lie about what I am. I'm a siphoner, like you."

"Duh."

"But… when I have magic in me, I can't just do spells like you. I can do something else entirely that doesn't even require a spell, just magic."

Kai snapped his fingers as he tried to think of the words. "You can astral project. Into the past."

"That doesn't make any sense because I was physically with you."

"Yeah… that doesn't make sense… Are you like Elena, a vampire? But you kept your magic like a Heretic?"

"Uh, no," Bella shook her head as she took a bite out of the food. "This is delicious, Kai."

"I know," he grinned. "Come on, tell me."

"I can travel in time. Every bit of me can travel back in time. I try not to stay out for long and in the beginning, it was only 10 minutes, tops, that I could go back, but now I can decide to go on for a bit longer or until the magic runs out," Bella said carefully. "I wanted to meet you because there aren't many known siphoners out there anymore."

Kai seemed to take those words in, he went from having a smile on his face to having a murderous look on his face. "You knew about what was going to happen? And you didn't stop it?! Bella, I thought we were friends?"

"Kai, we are."

"I spent 18 years in my coven's prison! They sent me away and you allowed that to happen! Great friend you are!"

Bella took his hand and gently squeezed it. She could feel the insane amount of magic coursing through his veins. "We went to see your dad. We were looking for more information about siphoners and our only clue was the Gemini coven. He called me an abomination, just like you, and he wanted to kill me. He said you were gone, I assumed you were dead. And that's why I went back in time to meet you."

"Not even to prevent my death?!"

"Time travel is tricky, mate," Kol replied, ready to tear off Kai's head if needed. "Bella went back to a time before she was born. If she had made such a big change she wouldn't know to what she came back to."

"That's just ridiculous! No, you're going to go back and you're going to tell me what's going to happen," Kai told Bella. "Now."

"Why? What difference would that make? You'd kill your family earlier? Maybe your dad this time so the entire coven dies? Including you?" Bella countered. "I can't travel back and change your future, Kai, even if I wanted to. I'm not even doing that for myself. Or for Kol."

"Well, the first time you went back in time was to save our house from burning," Kol shrugged.

"That's not changing someone's life!" Bella sighed as she squeezed Kai's arm. "If I had known that they'd put you away in a prison, I wouldn't have looked for you. But I didn't want to be alone and I didn't want you to be alone, either."

"You're not alone, you have your boyfriend," Kai sulked.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Kol took a sip of his wine to hide his disappointment. It was true, but it still stung. Bella hadn't shown any sign so far that she was interested in him like _that_. He was nothing more than a very strong and powerful friend. And the worst part was that he understood. He was a vampire, she wasn't. Vampires got her into the trouble she was in right now, and he had hope that once all of her worries were gone, she'd see him differently. Because it would be different vampires who got her out of trouble.

"Are you sure about that? Because he's looking like he could kill someone right now," Kai pointed out.

Bella briefly looked at Kol before looking at Kai again with a sigh. "Kol knows I'm done with boys for now."

Kai's eyes grew wide. "You're into girls?"

"No!"

"She was emotionally and physically hurt by her previous boyfriend, Kai, it takes some time to heal," Kol eventually managed to say. "We're good friends and we look out for each other." He hoped that the conversation would be ended with that, because he was really about to rip off Elena's head because he was annoyed.

"Okay, well, good on you, bro. You've got patience," Kai nodded as he took a sip of his wine. "Anyway, I didn't just sit on my ass for 18 years. I had the whole world to myself and I knew that I was going to get out some way, eventually. I taught myself how to fly in planes. Bettered myself. And I did some research for you."

"You did?"

"Yep," Kai nodded. "And… I didn't come up with anything. Siphoners, sure. Humans who survived a Cold One, not so much. So imagine a siphoner with a Cold One venom scar…" He shrugged as he took another bite of his food. "But it was fun though, going all around the world, following breadcrumbs. I've seen everything. The Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal…" Kai grabbed Bella's wrist and tried to siphon the magic out of it. "There's no magic in that scar."

"Nope, just venom," Bella said calmly, but slightly disappointed. "Otherwise I think I could have gotten rid of it myself."

"I think it's the venom that makes you able to time travel," Kai concluded. "Time travel is extremely rare amongst witches. Astral projection, sure. But time travel? Absolutely not. And you know what that makes you?"

"What?"

"Someone very special. And you're safe with me and your friend, but you shouldn't tell anyone else about this."

"I won't. It's why I didn't tell you in the first place, but you deserved an explanation. I usually wipe the memory of me in the past as it complicates things."

Kol wasn't sure if telling Kai was such a good idea, but he did go out of his way to find more information for Bella to eventually tell her then maybe he earned it. However, Kol was smelling burnt flesh, and it was burning in his nostrils. Something wasn't right.

"Okay, okay… shhh… she's coming to, let's make you guys invisible," Kai grinned. "I'll reveal you when I'm done playing, this is going to be fun!" He waved his hand and started to talk about how modern restaurants suck and how everything is on timers while Bella juist quietly ate her food.

"So she can't see or hear us now?" Kol blinked.

"Yep."

"Oh, this is good," Kol grinned and wanted to get up but Bella glared at him. "What?"

"This is Kai's party. Let him have the fun."

Kol rolled his eyes. He wanted to do something. "Can I have fun later?"

She smiled at him then. "Of course, but we're invited by Kai, this is his party, don't ruin it for him, please."

"Why am I here?" Elena asked groggily as she tried to get her hands free from her vervain bonds. "And I don't mean the Mystic Grill."

"Oh, here, here? In Mystic Falls?" Kai asked before letting out a chuckle. "Sorry, I'm very nervous. You… you're very pretty."

"Why am I here, Kai?"

"Well, I took the spell that was keeping the supernatural out of Mystic Falls and I like… absorbed it? Like… I ate it, I guess," he took a bite of his food and smiled at her. "It's cool, huh? First I eat magic and then eventually I lose it but… I mean a huge spell like that? Come on. Magic is oozing out of me, it's all over the place. And I have a friend who wanted to help me but nah. I can get this to work. You know, I didn't quite realize I was out of control until I met the manager of this place a few hours he was all like…'You can't be here, we're closed! And you have an unconcious girl over your shoulder!' And I was like… Don't judge me. So then I gave him a heart attack. Or tried to," There was no stopping Kai as he was talking. It was really the magic getting a hold of him again. He had stopped earlier as he was really curious and intent on listening to Bella, but he was really stuck in his monologue. "All I did was make him vomit uncontrollably which was like… ugh, alright let's stop that. So I tried again and I think I broke his spine. I'm not really sure because the third time I tried the spell, he kinda exploded in blood."

"Oh that's gross," Bella replied.

"Oh, that sounds great," Kol grinned.

Kai took a sip of his wine. "Whoops."

"What's wrong with you?" Elena said appalled, shaking her head.

"I told you, too much magic," he said as he put his glass down. "You know, it wasn't until my test run with the manager that I realized that if I start to merge with Jo and my gushing fountain of magic turns her into that guy then I'm not going to have a twin for the merge. So, Elena, that's why you're here. Because, I need to get my magic under control by practising with you. Or rather, by practising on you. Oh hey, ps: silver lining. After the manager finally stopped thrashing around, I finally managed a cloaking spell, thank you. It's easy to do and… undo." Kai waved his hand with a smile. "_Phasmatos Oculacs_."

Elena gasped when she saw the dead body on the table in front of her and Bella nearly gagged. Kol was applauding. "Great show, mate. Great show."

"Thank you, thank you… I think it's one of my best works," Kai grinned as he looked at Elena. "And just like that, table for five," he laughed. "Oh, you had no idea, Elena. This is brilliant."

"Kol?!" Elena eventually managed to say after she'd calmed down from Kai's surprise. "What the hell!"

"Hello, darling," Kol smiled at her. "Not to worry, this is Kai's party. I won't harm you."

"How about… I try to turn Elena's blood into acid?" Kai wondered out loud.

"Can I at least finish my dinner? Would be a shame if it got messy, Kai, this is delicious," Bella sighed as she looked at him. Normally, she'd be completely against something like this. But, this was Kai's party and all parties involved were supernatural.

Two vampires, a souped up siphoner and one without any magic at all. Both Kol and Kai were currently the two most powerful beings in the room and she was safe. As long as there wasn't going to be any fresh blood, she was going to be fine.

Trusting both Kol and Kai with the situation, she left them alone to have her dinner in the kitchen. After ten minutes Kol came to join her. "He's going to take her to the high school, do you want to come? I do love me some good torture."

"You two can have fun, I'll put the dishes in the dishwasher to hide the evidence and maybe I'll do some shopping," she replied. The idea of Kai playing with Elena continuously wasn't really something she'd like to watch. "Maybe Kai will let you have a go."

"Or perhaps Damon will come and try to rescue his girlfriend, now, that'll be interesting," Kol said rubbing his hands. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I'm sure."

"We could go home, seeing as we thought there was a different siphoner."

"No, he called for help so it's best if we stick around for a bit but I don't want to see you guys hurting that girl."

"That girl is a vampire and no longer human. She's supernatural, so all is fair."

"And what if that girl was me?"

Kol was a bit surprised by that question. "I can't speak for Kai but I wouldn't do that to you, Bella, I like you."

"But I'm supernatural, too. So according to your words, all is fair."

Kai walked into the kitchen and sighed. "She passed out. Are you two coming?"

"I'm not," Bella replied.

"Yeah, of course you are," Kai laughed. "What if I really can't control my magic and I need you to take the pressure off?"

"You call me. I'm sorry but I have to draw a line somewhere." Would Edward have been like this if he had stayed away from Carlisle, she wondered. Not just mentally but physically as well? "I draw the line at torture. You could kill her and get it over with?"

"Noooo, I want to have some _fun_," Kai grinned. "And you have no choice but to come with. Kol, catch!" he said before he made Bella pass out. Kol caught her in time with a murderous look on his face as he looked at Kai. "Don't worry, she'll be fine, I just wanted her to be a little more agreeable. Come, let's have some fun."


	14. Chapter 14

When Bella came to, she was in one of the more comfortable seats in the same building they had been in previously. Elena was gone, Kai was bound and gagged looking like he'd gone ten rounds with a star boxer and Kol was drinking straight out of a bottle of bourbon he had found. "What happened?"

Kol quickly put the bottle down and started to look her over. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, that spell is harmless, you taught me that yourself," she said annoyed as she looked at Kai. "Are you out of your freaking mind?"

Kai mumbled something.

"His excuse was that you said 'no', darling," Kol said as he gently squeezed her hand. "I wanted to kill him, but remembering that he's your friend and a siphoner like yourself, I gave him a good and proper beating instead."

"I see."

"He had it coming. I didn't hit any major organs, I just bruised him a lot."

"I can see that," Bella sighed and looked at him. "Thank you for your restraint," she smiled at him before looking at Kai. She got to her feet and walked over to lean against the table and jabbed his shoulder with her finger, and apparently it hurt as he was wincing. "Now, what to do with you."

Kai looked up at her with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"You didn't like me saying 'no' to you, what makes you think I'd allow you to take your revenge on your coven? Would you kill me if I said 'no' to that, too?"

Kai shrugged as an answer.

"We're no strangers to revenge, Kai," Kol replied. "In fact, I do love me some good revenge, hence why my family and I are assisting Bella in taking hers, although she's new to the whole killing thing that is so gloriously satisfying. But you'd have to be nice, and at least treat Bella with some kindness as she's shown that to you, too." The last bit made him throw up in his mouth a little, but Kol saw the look on Bella's face, and she wanted to bring him home so he could lead a normal life.

Humans were so predictable.

But with Bella wanting to take Kai back to Forks they were going to have some issues with the guy even worse in control of magic than Bella, especially around his family.

Bella slowly nodded. "I find it easier to kill Cold Ones because they're vampires. Killing a witch is different because they're alive," she said as she removed Kai's gag. "What was your plan?"

"No plan," Kai grinned. "Chaos is fun."

"Does it involve killing?"

"No, it involved me becoming the leader of the Gemini and proving to them that I am worthy."

"No offense, mate, the way that you are now won't do you any favors and you might end up dead along with your coven," Kol replied with a sigh. "I don't mind much about your coven because they're a dying one as is, but Bella wants you to have a life as the ultimate revenge."

Bella looked at Kol and blinked in confusion. "How did you know?"

"I know you, darling, and I agree with your idea, but it will be under our terms and not his."

She smiled at him then and looked back at Kai. "Who are you the most upset with?"

Kai huffed. "You know the answer to that."

"Your father and Josette," Bella nodded. "The coven is just a footnote."

Kai shrugged. "Well, the lives of the coven is linked to their leader, so if my dad dies…"

"Everyone dies, including you."

"Doubtful. I'm pret-ty sure my dad kicked me out of the coven when he put me into the prison world," Kai replied with a shrug. "Of course, if I'd merge with Josette and win, I'd be instantly back in. See, with this magic inside of me, I can wipe them out. Just like that."

Bella hated the supernatural community because they could do whatever, and now that she was a part of it, it was even worse, in some ways. The laws were apparently different for those not entirely human. "And that's what you want? You want to be responsible for the death of many people by killing your dad?" This wasn't her choice, it was his. And if he wanted this, then she was going to support it, no matter how conflicting it felt.

"Yes," Kai replied, a smirk on his face. "You're really going to help me?"

"Are you sorry for not allowing me to say 'no' to you? Will you at least try to be kind to me and to Kol?"

"Oh, he doesn't have to be nice to me, darling, only if he doesn't want to receive another beating," Kol said smug. "But let's add a deal in the mix," he replied as he moved over to where Bella was and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at Kai. "I know a lot of people like you, I was… _am_, like you. Bella's going to put a binding spell on you so you can't move far, and, when this is all over, she's going to take whatever magic remains from you."

Kai huffed. "I'm not going home with you."

"As it is, and I'm likely going to face the wrath of Bella by saying this, but as it is, you, as a witch, are too unhinged to walk around freely. You're going to be a danger to yourself and others. It's either death or you'll come with us. I don't care that she's your friend, but I have to make sure that she's safe and you clearly proved that you'd even knock her out when she doesn't want to entertain your crazy ideas."

"But _you_ didn't mind some torture."

"That's because you and I are more alike than you might realize, Kai. And up until the point where you knocked Bella out, I kinda liked you. And then you had to ruin it by hurting her feelings. Quite disappointing."

"Are you truly saying that if I hadn't done that, you and I could have had some fun?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Kol replied flatly. "Bella and I will help you get your revenge on your family and coven, but the question remains, what next? Am I going to kill you or are you coming back with us so you can live a life you've missed out on?"

"What about option C?" Kai grinned.

Kol wanted to kill him. Right now. What a wanker. "There is no third option."

"Sure there is. Bind my non-existing witchy power and let me be on my way."

"As I said, there is no third option," Kol countered. "And might I suggest you stop being so obtuse if you value your life?" Kai was pissing him off, greatly. Kol needed a drink. Now. He pushed himself away from the table and pointed at Kai as he looked at Bella. "This is a bad idea. You deal with him, I'm going to have a snack and make sure Gilbert hasn't alerted the Salvatores and the vampire hunter… or let's hope she did so I have something to do."

After Kol had left, Kai spoke up again. "Pretty sure he's your boyfriend."

"Shut up," Bella said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "This isn't anything like you."

"Yeah well, we'll talk again when you're locked up in a prison world for 18 years all by yourself."

"And lose all idea of how to interact with people, and respect them? Hardly. Otherwise, you'd be a caveman right now," Bella chided him as she leaned forward to put her hand on his and started to pull magic out of him. "You need to calm down."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking away your toys until you learn how to play nice," Bella replied, a playful smile on her face. "But I have to admit, this magic packs a punch," she added as she could feel the magic settle in her system. "You need a clear head for this."

"Bella, you said it yourself you had issues with controlling magic," Kai said worriedly. "Stop."

"Yeah, I do, but at least that doesn't turn me into a dickhead," she countered as she let go of him, not entirely getting all the magic inside of him. "Jesus, that was insane. It is insane, what were you thinking?" Bella breathed out as she walked away from him.

"I wasn't," Kai said as he turned his head to look at her. "I'll take it back?"

"No," she said as she turned around to look at him. His demeanor was calmer, which was everything she had hoped for. "So, what do you think? Kol and I help you get your revenge, and you come home with us?"

"And then what?"

Bella shrugged. "Help you readjust to life? Help you with dealing with the magic?"

"How? You can barely contain yourself when it's not magic coming off of your boyfriend," Kai pleaded. "Just give it back to me, Bella, you'll be fine."

"Nope, you're not going to get it back until you've earned it back."

"What are you, my mother?"

"No, I'm your friend," she countered as she shoved her hands in her pockets as not to accidentally blow something up or knock out Kai. "And I care about you. That's why I came back for you every time despite you not knowing much about why I came and sought you out in the first place. Kol didn't like me traveling back that much, and it was hard and draining on the both of us, but I didn't want you to be alone. I still don't want you to be alone. And that's why we're going to help you get you your revenge and that's why Kol gave you the ultimatum; either he kills you because you're a loose cannon, or you come home with us to start your life away from your coven."

"You really care?"

"Yes!" She made her way back to him and crouched down next to him. Looking at him, she sighed. "Yes, your coven are a bunch of assholes for putting you away like that, but it could have been worse after what you'd done. They could have killed you instead. And if I had known that you weren't dead, I would have come and find you."

Kai huffed. "You're just saying that because you're afraid of me."

"You're the one who's afraid," she pointed out. "And hurt. And angry. And they're all valid feelings that I want you to get your revenge for. But you also deserve a good life, and I want to try to help you get that. Because that's what friends do," Bella smiled at him then. "And it's not going to be easy, but you're going to be alright."

"You don't know how I feel, Bella."

"No, no, I don't. I only can imagine how angry you are, and how hurt. But you're not the only one hurting," she replied softly. "I hurt too. I'm angry, and mostly, I'm afraid. I keep thinking… the longer I'm away from Forks, the more risk I'm taking with my life. And at first, I didn't even care, you know. So what if the Cold Ones kill me for leaving Forks? I don't want to be stuck in Forks for the rest of my life," she continued. "And then Kol started to take me away from Forks, further away than the two hours that I was allowed. And we spent a month and a half in Portland so I could spend time with a new friend and Kol made me feel safe."

"That's great, but what where does that leave me? I have no one."

"You have me and you can trust me. I want you to stop hurting, to stop being afraid and angry. And I want you to have a great life. And that's a big step, especially because you've been hurt by people in the past, but I am not them."

Kai sighed as he finally tried to move, getting uncomfortable in his bonds on the wooden chair. "But I didn't treat you like a friend, I disrespected you and your boyfriend beat the crap out of me."

"And I'm still here. Just disappointed, but still here."

"Yeah, alright. Fine. We'll try it your way."

~o.O.o~

Bella was surprised how easy and uncomplicated things were. She wanted to make sure that Kai was indeed no longer a part of the Coven so Kol taught her a spell to sever the tie and, as it turned out, papa Parker was already in town to congratulate his twins Liv and Luke on their 22nd birthday. He wanted to force them to merge, despite both siblings not wanting to, so that Kai wouldn't do it with his favourite daughter Jo.

The magic she had siphoned off of Kai had disappeared the following morning, which was great as her sleep had been not an easy one. She had strange dreams and had accidentally travelled back in time for just a few minutes while asleep. She was glad that it was out of her system by breakfast and Kai was a lot more like himself too.

Bella warned both Kol and Kai about Joshua Parker as she had to deal with him only two months ago and he was a force to be reckoned with, one that she'd been unprepared for and she'd been outmatched, but Kai said not to worry as she'd simply been inexperienced and Kol vowed to end him if Kai for some reason couldn't do it.

She knew that they both were thinking too lightly about this. Kai believed he could take on his own father, and Kol relied on his age and experience. And, in a way, they were right. They'd been a witch or around longer than she'd been, and maybe she was too cautious and anxious because they weren't.

And why were confrontations done in the evenings in this stupid little town?

Bella was nursing the coffee that Kol had gotten her on their way to find Joshua Parker and hung back with Kol when Kai spotted his father. Kol hadn't trusted Kai with his siphoning abilities so Bella siphoned some magic from Kol and had Kai get it out of her instead. Because Kai wouldn't kill Bella.

And she could see in Kol's eyes that he was neglecting to tell her something but she wasn't going to question it. Whatever it was, it could wait. Kai was too eager to kill his father and end the Gemini coven along with it.

"You have some nerve," Joshua Parker argued as he was pinned against the wall by Kai. "You can't win, Kai." And with one fell swoop, Kai was on his ass and Joshua freed. "Even with your vampire friend," he flicked his wrist and Kol dropped to the ground with a snapped neck. "And you…" he said as he looked at Bella. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

Bella was too shocked to see Kol on the ground to do anything. She couldn't do anything, she didn't have any magic in her, or, come to think of it, just a little, and she wasn't sure how it got there. Kai had taken everything.

"Bella, run!" Kai called out as he cast a spell to incapacitate his father. His father was only shaken by the spell before looking at Kai with a curious look on his face.

"You like her."

"This is between you and me, you're going to leave her out of this," Kai responded angrily. "She's here to witness."

"She is an abomination like you, and like you, she will die," Joshua replied as he reached out with his hand to freeze Kai in his tracks and his other shot out to Bella and his words had clear intent. "_Phesmatos aspiciunt colorem abire magam_."

Bella doubled over as she could feel her heart hurt. It felt as if it was on fire. Beating fast. Clutching her chest, she tried to catch her breath but it was impossible.

"Stop!" Kai begged his father. "Bella, siphon the magic out of you, you can do it."

"_Secat latera caeli_!"

Bella started coughing as her lungs now started to burn and it wasn't before long that she fell on to the ground and everything went black as her body hurt.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: To celebrate I won campnano this month, I'm going to give you a chapter early :-)**

**5 more chapters to go!**

**xxx Buggy**

* * *

"I'm telling you, she's going to kill you."

"You already said that."

"I'm just saying," Kai shrugged as he took a bite out of his food. "So when is she going to wake up?"

"I already answered that," Kol replied frustrated, ready to take a bite out of the witch. "It takes time. Some people wake up faster than others."

"And when she does, she's going to kill you," Kai said in a sing-song voice.

Kol let out a growl. The boy was high on magic and he needed to be patient seeing as he was Bella's friend but he really wanted to take a bite out of him. But, with Kai present, he didn't have to go and find a human.

"Get a room," Bella muttered as she rubbed her eyes, feeling as if she'd been hit by a truck. "Who won?"

"I did, of course," Kai huffed. "You doubted me?"

Bella sat up to look at him and shook her head. "Of course not," she replied as she looked around and then found Kol. "Where are we?"

"My family still owns property in Mystic Falls, I decided it would be best to take you here whilst you were unconscious," Kol said after a moment to think about the words he was going to say. "We're safe here."

"Can we go home?"

Kol helped her to get off the bed so she could walk around. He kept his distance, while he couldn't be killed, Bella could still do some damage if she wanted to. And maybe he was ashamed of what he did. "Not yet," he sighed. No, he wasn't ashamed. He wanted Bella around forever, even if she didn't see their friendship like that yet. "I have to admit something to you, darling, and-"

"You're going to kill him," Kai grinned.

"He can't be killed," Bella told Kai before looking at Kol and sighed. "Let me guess… you put some of your blood in the coffee you got me, and Kai's dad killed me."

"You knew?"

"I knew something was off, because I felt the tiniest bit of magic in my veins when there shouldn't have been any as Kai took it all," she told him. "You should have told me," she added as she walked over to him and took his hand. "I still have a choice?"

Choices. Oh, he hadn't thought this through. Months ago she wanted to die because of the Cold One troubles, and now that she had died, could permanently die, she could still choose that. It was her choice. And he was going to have to respect that choice. "Yes."

There had been a time where Bella wished to end it all, but she'd seen how the Mikaelsons were willing to help her with her Cold One problem and she couldn't just leave Kai on his own with them because Kai was her friend, too. And, as a vampire, Bella could likely take on a Cold One herself. She couldn't leave Charlie, either, it would break him. No, she was going to see this through. She wasn't done yet. "Okay," she nodded and let out a breath. At least, as Kol's kind of vampire she'd still appear human and wouldn't have to make excuses for Charlie. She could still have food and didn't have to hunt down an animal because they could just get blood from a blood bank.

Kol's face lit up. "Really?"

Bella nodded as she looked at him. "You two need me."

Both Kol and Kai huffed at that.

"And, I really want to see the end of the Cold Ones."

"You know," Kai said as he hopped onto the small dresser and sat down on it, looking at Bella and Kol. "There's a great chance you'll retain your siphoning abilities. You'll become a Heretic and you'll never have to take magic to make magic ever again. You'd be unstoppable."

"Or, you could lose your magic like every witch does when they turn," Kol said. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes," Bella nodded.

"Good, then I can teach Kai how to make a daylight ring or another piece of jewelry you might like for it," Kol grinned as he got a knife out of his back pocket and handed it to Kai. "Grab that cup next to you and fill it with some of your blood for Bella to drink and complete her transition."

"What!"

"You're the only human here, Kai. Or would I need to go into Mystic Falls and grab someone off the street?" Kol asked sweetly. "It's for Bella, it's not as if I will drink it. I already snacked on the way back."

"Fine," Kai sighed as he cut his hand and dripped the blood into the cup. "Here I am, I just killed an entire coven of witches because I killed their leader, my father, out of hatred and also out of anger because he killed my friend and now I'm supplying blood to my friend so she can turn into a full vampire. What's my life become?"

"Oh shush, Kai," Bella laughed. "I'm very thankful for your blood and I won't let it go to waste."

"Without my blood, your boyfriend would have to go out and snatch someone off the street, which you likely won't like," Kai pouted. "And I don't want you to die so."

"Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated, Kai," Bella smiled at him before turning her attention back to Kol, whose hand she was still holding. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Bella jerked her head into Kai's direction. "His dad snapped your neck."

"It's an unpleasant experience, but I'm alright darling," he responded before letting out a sigh. "Do you forgive me for putting my blood in your coffee as a safety measure? I didn't want you to die because you have some unfinished business and that even with your death wouldn't be resolved for those you care about."

She smiled at him then. "You know, I'd like to stick around anyway. Couldn't leave you alone with Kai, who knows what trouble you two would get into?"

"Hey!" Kai whined. "I take offense to that!"

"What he said."

"Why? Why should you two have all the fun, getting into trouble? I want in!" Bella grinned. "Besides, you're right, even if I'd die, the Cold Ones still could hurt people."

"And she wants to get into your pants," Kai remarked as he handed Bella the cup and wiped his hand on his shirt. "Let's see what's going to happen. Kol and I already placed our bets. He thinks you're going to lose your magic, I think you'll become a heretic. Drink up."

Maybe Kai was right, maybe there was some sort of spark somewhere, deep down, that she chose to ignore because she wasn't ready. Maybe. All she knew was that she was comfortable around Kol, she had felt her apprehension fade over the course of the months she'd spent with him. Even now, she was far away from Forks and she wasn't afraid of the Cold Ones. Kol would protect her, and, if she wanted, she could wipe the floor with them, turned them all into ash.

Or not. She was going to be a vampire now and there was a 50% chance of her losing her magic. Which would be alright.

She was still alive, and Charlie wouldn't have to mourn her death. She had a chance of being happy for the rest of her life, without the Cold Ones.

However, as she was looking into the cup trying to ignore Kai's remarks, she could smell his blood, and not just in the cup because he was still bleeding from his hand. Bella hated the smell of blood, usually, but the once coppery smelling liquid now called out to her and she couldn't help but drink everything to the last drop.

She licked her lips as she could feel the blood warm her body, firing up the magic in her veins as she held out the cup for Kai to put some more blood in it as she looked at him.

"Yeah, she's looking at me like I'm going to be her next meal. I'll be downstairs seeing if I can find something edible in the kitchen," he said as he looked at Kol.

"Our servants usually keep the kitchen well stocked, knock yourself out," Kol replied, an entertained smile on his lips as he gently placed his hand on Bella's arm. She was pinking up, good. "He's not your next meal."

"I know that," Bella replied as she longingly watched Kai leave the room. "I just wanted some more, that's all," she added as she turned her head to look at Kol. "Can I have some more?"

"Later, darling," Kol laughed. "Baby steps. The main question is… who won?"

"Huh?"

"Kai or me? Did you retain your magic like he said?"

Of course, she had. She could feel it through her entire body. Nodding, she used her free hand to knock over something on the dresser. "So, what does that mean?"

"That means that you're a very powerful little vampire," Kol said, in awe of her. While he had entertained the idea of her becoming a heretic, he had quickly shot it down because it had been a very long time since there had been one. "More than capable of dealing with the Cold Ones on your own." And then there was that, and he could feel his heart sink. Bella could leave.

"What's the fun in that?" She playfully countered. "Like I said, I think that the three of us will have a lot of fun." When she saw the surprised look on Kol's face, she laughed. "Not like that. I mean… yeah, I still have to deal with my shit. And Kai is still going to need a lot of help and love to be well-adjusted towards people but I've realized that he already feels more than a friend to me than my friends from Forks do. And you…"

Oh, that didn't sound good.

"I've had some thoughts about you."

"And?"

Bella shrugged. "I don't know yet, but I do know that you're not in the friend zone like Kai is, I just need some time."

His face lit up then. "What happened?"

She shrugged again as she looked to the floor, trying so hard not to look him in the eye. "I dunno. Maybe the time we spent in Portland together. Or maybe… death. Realizing that I do want to live and have a great life and that I merely had a very bad experience with guys."

"People do say that with death comes clarity."

"Don't mock me."

"I'm not," he let out a snort. "Come, I'll show you around the house."

~o.O.o~

Kol wanted to remain in Mystic Falls for a couple of days for Bella to adjust to her new self, and Kol had to admit, she was doing a lot better with being a vampire than a witch. She didn't want to take a bite out of Kai, and she could behave herself in a supermarket where there were more people.

She found some of her vampire abilities difficult to deal with for the first few days, such as her hearing and getting her to know her own strength, but she was doing fine now. She even had more control over her magic than she had previously, which was something Kol had been worried about.

He couldn't possibly bring back an unstable vampire/witch hybrid to Forks and have her mortal friends be in danger, but she was alright, and they had made plans to return the next day.

Kai had kept himself busy with baking and cooking, he didn't want to venture outside the house because, unlike Bella, he couldn't protect himself without having had a hit of magic and he didn't want to feel fragile. Bella wanted him in Forks, for a sense of normality. You couldn't get any more ordinary than Forks.

Bella was driven slightly mad for a couple of hours after her transition because of the sharp hearing and better eyesight, but Kol had managed to distract her by instructing her on how to make her own item that would allow her to walk in daylight. She had chosen for a simple bracelet and while it looked fragile, the additional strengthening spell would make sure she'd never lose it.

Kol wasn't sure how Klaus was going to react to Bella being a vampire _and _a witch, but he was confident in knowing that Bella didn't take any shit from anyone and she wouldn't allow herself to be used.

For their last evening at the Mikaelson home in Mystic Falls, Kai had cooked them a great meal and afterward Kol took Bella for a stroll. Kai didn't want to come, citing the fact that he had just killed a bunch of people and that people wouldn't want him around as a reason. Kol was merely grateful that Kai recognized that Kol wanted to have Bella all to himself.

Perhaps Bella was right about Kai, that, like Kol and his siblings, Kai was doing the morally wrong things for the right reasons. Betrayal and bullying was never a good thing to live with. Kol was the last one to talk about morality, but he could understand Kai's motives.

They were walking near the river where over a thousand years ago Kol played with his friends, or where he'd get herbs for their settlement's witch Ayana. "I know I don't have to warn you about Nik, but I still am going to," he eventually said. "He has a habit of coveting beings that are unusual and powerful like himself, and he'll try to manipulate you and likely to drive a wedge between us."

Bella scoffed. "Why would he do that?"

"Because that's how he is. Always has been."

"Well, maybe he's changed. I mean, he has Myriam now."

"Perhaps. Likely not. But still."

She smiled at him then. "Don't worry, Kol, I won't let him use me. And if he tries, I'll tell on him and Myriam will take care of him."

"Or you could, yourself. Use your magic to break something on his body."

"And then what? Risk the wrath of Myriam?" Bella laughed. "No thanks!"

Kol smiled then. It was a good thing to know that Bella recognized Myriam's claim to Klaus. "You'll never know, she might be the one holding him down for you."

She looped her arm through Kol's and sighed. "Don't worry so much, it'll be fine. I just hope I won't squish Charlie when I hug him."

"Don't try to eat him, that should be your main worry."

"Oh! No! What if I do that?!"

"Relax, darling," he snickered. "You'll be fine. You're doing great."

Bella let out a breath and nodded. She knew this. Of course. She had nothing to worry about. They sat down on a bunch of rocks on comfortable silence before Bella spoke up again. "Why did you ever leave this place? It's beautiful."

"Well, aside from my siblings and I killing a bunch of people from our settlement in our initial hunger, and aside from Niklaus doing the same after he triggered his werewolf side, our father killed half the settlement as he tried to kill us, so we ran, and never really looked back until Niklaus wanted to break the curse our mother had placed on him."

She looked at him and nodded. "That sounds like a valid reason."

"And when you get to live as long as we have, you'll find your favourite places, but know, that despite all the fighting, that your family is home. Although I'm not sure if I want to stick around Nik and Myriam for the next few years," he replied. "I think I've adjusted well after my decade stuck in the box. I'd rather be somewhere Nik or Elijah is not so I can stay out of it."

"Will you take me with you?"

"After we've dealt with your Cold One problem, I'll take you anywhere you'd like," Kol replied as he put an arm around Bella. "As long as we're far away from my family."

"With the occasional trip back to Forks to see my dad?"

"Of course!"

"Then you've got yourself a deal," Bella nodded.


	16. Chapter 16

If there was one thing Bella had discovered in her short life as a vampire, her dreams were more vivid as well. And Kol was in her dreams as she was lying in the grass near the water they had visited earlier, trying to wake her up and being weird about it. Rude, even.

He was poking her with a stick.

"What the fuck, Kol?" Bella whined as she sat up and tried looking at him but looked into the sun instead. When Kol stepped into the sun to block it for her, she blinked. "Oh fuck me," she breathed out as she looked at the young Viking boy with an inquisitive look on his face.

"What are you?"

Bella got to her feet as she kept her eyes on Kol. Oh, she must look like an alien to him in her shorts and shirt - her sleeping attire. She didn't want to upset the balance of history and she wouldn't be interacting with him this time. He was still so human. He smelled delicious. "_Invisique,"_ she whispered and took a few steps back from him. Just to watch him.

There was a curiosity in his eyes, a mischievous twinkle. He was carefree and beautiful. "You may still be here," he started with a shrug and turned to walk away. "Follow me around, if you wish, I was sent by the great witch Ayana to get her the herbs that only grow out here for one of her mixtures. If I do that, she'll teach me something new again."

Bella followed him to the rocks nearby and watched Kol pluck herbs. "If you're not a witch, you must be a Goddess by turning unseen as you did. Are you perhaps curious as to what your followers are up to?"

Wow. Bella blinked as she watched him carefully. She couldn't find the pull to go back yet and that frustrated her. The longer she was around human Kol, the more damage she could do.

"Or perhaps bless the women and men in our village with fertility?"

Ew, no.

"I am not afraid of you, and if you want to appear as us mortals, I could get you garments from my sister, I'm certain she wouldn't mind you borrowing her outfit?"

Bad idea. The worst. And on top of that, she didn't trust that playful smile on his face. He was mocking her. Human Kol was a little shit.

"If you're neither a witch nor a Goddess, are you lost? Your clothes and your language… it's different."

Bella huffed as she tried to will herself back. She was going to kill her Kol when she got back. No way she had herself under control if she time-traveled in her sleep, and this far, too! And why to human Kol and not to somewhere else? Why was it always him she found herself with when she traveled out of her own control?

Kol got to his feet, and she really didn't trust that smile on his face. "I wonder…" he said before he reached out and grabbed her, dropping the spell she had cast over herself. She used a bit of her strength for him to let go of her. "I heard you speak, where are you from?" He asked as he walked toward her.

She didn't want to compel him, because it would come back after he'd turn, and she didn't want to use magic on his human brain to make him forget her. Bella merely shook her head.

"You're pretty. None of the girls in our village are my fancy but you… I could make you stay."

"No way in hell," she growled. "Stay away from me."

"You're a feisty one, I like it!"

"Kol, don't."

"You speak my name, but I don't think we've met, how is that possible?"

She started to scratch her arms and finally felt the pull to go back. "_Invisique,"_ she whispered before allowing the magic to take her back to the room she had been sleeping in. Not even checking the time or the way she was dressed she set out to find Kol as she had heard him move around downstairs. "Tell me one thing."

"Good morning, Bella," he said as he handed her a blood bag.

"No," she said as she discarded the bag. She was so angry, she could rip off his head if she wanted to. Well, no, he was an Original, but she could definitely do damage. "Tell me why everytime I don't have control over my time travel gift, I end up with you. It was even worse this time!"

Kol picked up the bag and handed it to her and made her sit. "Calm down before you do something you'll regret. What are you wearing, darling?"

"Kol."

He sighed as he leaned on the counter to look at her. "I don't know. What happened the first time?"

"I had a vision where I saw the wolves dead."

"And what happened this time?"

"I don't know! I was asleep!" Bella spat.

"You could have had a nightmare or another vision, but because you were asleep you don't remember," he said as a matter-of-factly, trying to calm her down by rationalizing. "Where did you go?"

Not wanting to answer that, she tore open the blood bag and started to drink her blood.

"Or more importantly, when?"

She looked at him as she drank her blood like an upset toddler. She hadn't made him forget, and their interaction had only been brief. "That's not important. What is, is that I always seem to go back in time and find you whenever I get a fright or something."

"I'm no shrink," Kai said as he walked in to get something from the fridge. "But maybe your subconscious is telling you something," he said as he took a bite from his homemade cake and closed the fridge door and turned around to have his exit blocked by Bella. "What?" He then looked at Kol. "You know I'm right, you're ignoring it. Well, Bella is."

"Likely, but you're not helping," Kol retorted as he pushed Bella back into her chair. "She'll pull your head right off and there won't be any means of reviving you. Which will upset her even more."

Bella huffed as she kept looking at Kai as she squeezed her blood bag.

"Butting in, gotcha." Kai winked as he sauntered back out of the kitchen.

Kol looked at Bella and gently squeezed her shoulder. How long was he going to wait for Bella to open up even more to the possibility for Kol to become hers? It pained him to see her this upset. "Why does it upset you so much that whenever you travel out of fright that you end up with me? Am I that revolting?"

"No."

"I think that it's a smart thing, a safe move, that your subconscious directs you to me. Then at least I know you're safe if you're not here. That at least some version of me can help you."

Bella sighed as she smacked down the now empty blood bag. "Human you is a little shit."

Kol blinked at that. "What?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I went over a thousand years back in time and human you poked me awake with a stick while you were going to pick herbs for that witch of your village. I assumed he was you you, so I cursed and upon realizing that it wasn't you, I turned myself invisible."

He was quiet for a moment. "I vaguely remember something like that," he eventually replied. "That explains the period clothing."

"And you managed to break the spell by merely reaching out and grabbing me," she said frustratingly. "I was trying so hard not to mess with the timeline and didn't even wipe our encounter from your mind because it would come back anyway and it fucking sucked, because it took some time for me to get back here."

"I thought you had everything under control?"

"I do! But not in my fucking sleep!"

"Calm down," Kol laughed. "I'm sure we can find a way for you to have control, even in your sleep. Such as a dark object with you whenever you go to sleep, to ground you or to nullify your magic temporarily."

"That's possible?" Bella asked hopefully.

"Of course," Kol replied. "And if not, I'll teach you how to create such an object. But don't be angry or upset about it. It happens. And now we know that your control is less while you're asleep. So we can fix it. And seeing as we're all done here, we've all eaten something, I think it's time for you to get dressed and the three of us will go back home."

~o.O.o~

Despite Kol having grown to like Kai over the last couple of days, he still wasn't happy with Bella wanting Kai to live at her home with her father. Yes, it'd mean fewer opportunities for Kai to take magic from anyone, but it also made Bella vulnerable to Kai as he was the take kind of guy.

On top of that, Kol wanted Bella to stay with him, and his family, in the former Cullen house but he saw two problems with that; a) it was the Former Cullen House and b) Bella still hadn't seen the light. And that was frustrating.

Bella was his, but he wasn't hers yet. And knowing that she was hanging out with Kai, and was likely going to visit her friends, he decided to listen to Myriam and give Bella space… and go to Seattle to beat people up. Misbehave. And his sister coming along was a bonus, and he didn't care if she was coming with to babysit him.

Bella had spoken to her father about Kai, and why he was with them, and surprisingly, Charlie was very agreeable. Charlie would give Kai a job at the station and go from there. Oh, Bella knew that Kai's passion lay elsewhere, but she wasn't sure if she could unload him onto the diner just yet, he was safer and in a controlled environment at the station.

She shot texts to Jessica and Angela to meet up for coffee somewhere in the week and headed to the treaty line before texting Jake that she needed to talk to him. While Bella never had to ask for permission to enter the rez, matters had changed. And she'd need Jake's permission. It was the only right way to do things because while she looked human, she wasn't, and the wolves would know.

Oh, she hadn't told Charlie. He wouldn't be able to believe it and it was safer if he didn't know, but, her friends who were supernatural themselves, needed to. Even if the result was Bella not being allowed on the rez anymore. She really hoped that Jake was more liberal than she'd even thought.

She had kept Jake in the loop for the last two months about just about anything, what she was doing and why, Bella only hadn't told him that she'd died and come back. Yet. And she had no idea how he was going to react to the news.

"Loca!" Jake greeted her with that big, goofy smile of his. "You're back! Why didn't you just come to the rez? Everyone's dying to see you!"

"Because we need to talk," Bella replied before she was being smothered by Jake and his awesome hugs. And, as if on cue, Jake let go of her and nearly jumped back. "About why you just recoiled?"

"You're a vampire! He fucking turned you, didn't he? I'm going to kill him!"

"Calm down," Bella gently said. "I'm alright. If it hadn't been for Kol, I would have been dead."

"What!" More rage. Bella could almost taste it. "He took you into a dangerous situation?!"

"No, I dove right into that situation, but I had underestimated how dangerous it would be and Kol had anticipated the danger so here I am," she said as a matter-of-factly. "I'm still me, I still eat food and I can behave myself around people who are filled with blood."

"What about your magic?"

"Surprisingly, it's also still present and I don't need another magical being or object to do magic, either, seeing as I am one now."

Jake looked at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. "H-how can you be alright with this? You're dead, Bella!"

"And I'm still here. I'm not a threat to you or the people on the rez, I promise," she said kindly. "I'm still your friend, Jake, if you allow me to be."

He looked at her for a moment and ran his hand through his hair as he sighed deeply. "We can deal with your magic being out of control."

"But it's not."

"But I am not sure if you have that thirst for blood under control."

"I just told you, I do," Bella countered. "And I don't snack on humans or animals. Blood bags from the clinic is what I drink, Myriam brings me a bag every day. I'm fine. Honest. I'm safe."

Jake let out a breath and nodded, his heart clearly broken. "I believe you. I'll have to inform the others. Why won't you and your friends come over tomorrow night?"

Now it was Bella's turn to be surprised. "You want me to bring along Kol and Kai?"

"Yeah, why not? You've spent a lot of time with them lately, and I want to get to know them."

"I don't think bringing Kai will be such a great idea around a bunch of magical wolves right now. He's… different when he has magic inside of him and I want him to experience a normal life without magic, but with love and attention that he never really got before." On top of that, she knew how _she_ had reacted to the shifter magic and she wasn't sure if Kai would be able to control that either despite him having been a siphoner all his life.

"Then bring your boyfriend."

"He's not my-"

"I'll be the judge of that," Jake winked at her. "After all, he'll have to go through me if he wants you to be his."

She rolled her eyes at her friend. "Fine. I'll see what I can do. I'll see you tomorrow."

~o.O.o~

"I'm not sure if Kol wants to come with you tonight," Myriam said as she sat at the dining table at Bella's home. Charlie had left for work and Myriam popped by to give her her blood bag. "He's letting off some steam, it's all that pent-up emotions and aggression that he really tries to control around you," she said nonchalantly. "To be honest, I'm surprised he's been behaving himself that well."

"Don't knock him down like that, he's a great person," Bella said as she ripped into her blood bag.

Myriam saw the irritation on the girl's face and smiled. "Why are you annoyed by that? It's a known fact that Kol's not known for his restraint."

"Because he doesn't show that side to me."

"Just because he doesn't show it, doesn't mean it isn't there, and honestly, I'm not sure if he'll be sticking around for much longer. He likes to travel a lot. Maybe he'll wait until we've helped you with the Cold Ones and then fucks off. He clearly doesn't trust you enough for him to show you that side of him."

Bella glared at Myriam as she kept drinking the blood, anger rise inside of her. She wasn't going to let Myriam get to her, she was clearly on a mission to push her buttons.

"I'm all for playing games, having things naturally evolve, but sometimes drawing things out for a very long time isn't the best course of action with a Mikaelson. Especially not with Kol, he's impatient," Myriam continued before an amusing smile appeared on her face. "Klaus was the complete opposite. I had to wait 25 years until he finally realized I wouldn't leave him."

"Kol and I already made plans for after we deal with the Cold Ones, he knows I'm not going anywhere," Bella eventually said as she stuffed the empty blood bag in Myriam's purse. "As far as what's between him and me is between him and me and we don't need any persuasion or not-so-subtle digs."

"You've spent two months alone with him."

"And?"

Myriam sighed. "No wonder he ran off to let off some steam."

"Okay, that's enough," Bella said as she shook her head. "Thanks for the blood, I'll be sure to call Kol to see if he's alright."

"You know, you'd have better access to blood if you'd just move in in our house. You have a room, after all."

Bella carefully eyed Myriam. "And then what? Have three or four other vampires comment on how Kol and I are together or not? I might just ask him to move in here. It's nice and quiet here," she added before shrugging. "Then again, he might want to go after the Volturi when he comes back and the Cullens, so we won't be here for much longer, anyway."

"I will not let you hurt him."

"Myriam!" Bella threw her hands up in defeat. "We've been over this. I won't hurt him! Now, if everyone would just stop trying to throw us together before we're both ready, that would be grand. I can tolerate it from Kai, but not from you. Please."

"Oh, it's time to have coffee with your friends?" Kai smirked as he hopped down the stairs. "Hi Myriam, Bella's going to introduce me to her friends. How boring is that? So… ordinary."

"And then I'm going to drop you off at your ordinary job at the station," Bella reminded him. "Dad says you're fantastic."

"I know, right?" Kai beamed with pride. "It's nothing special but I do my best because that's what you want."

"Working your way up to the diner."

"Exactly," Kai grinned. "Honestly, Bella, I thought I wouldn't like it here. But here we are, a couple of days in… and I've never felt more appreciated by people. Feels good. So, coffee with your friends?"


	17. Chapter 17

As expected, Kai got along swimmingly with Jessica, who was now sporting an engagement ring from Mike. Bella was wondering how the hell that happened because she and Kol had only been gone for two months! She liked to hear that Angie and Ben finally saw the light and hooked up, too.

"So, how was your sanctioned school trip?" Jessica asked sweetly. "Two months with super hottie on an assignment so rare you two missed graduation? What was so important? Did you and him…."

"No," Bella replied taking a sip of her coffee. "And I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. All I can say is that it was very educational in some areas, while in others… not so much."

"But you and hottie didn't hook up?"

"Not for a lack of trying," Kai murmured into his coffee and winced when Bella kicked him in the shins.

Jessica sighed as she reached for Bella's hand and gently squeezed it. "Bella, babe, he seems like a solid guy who definitely has the hots for you. Why won't you allow yourself to be open to him?"

"I am," Bella pulled her hand back and continued to drink her coffee. "I'd love for everyone to back off about what's between me and Kol, as that's only our business and not those of others. We need to find someone for Kai."

"What!" Kai spluttered.

Bella smirked at him then. "Relax. Joke. Now you know how it feels."

"Oh, what about Katie?" Jessica beamed. "Katie is still single?"

"Nope," Angela shook her head. "Eric called dibs on her."

"Alright, leave him alone," Bella laughed. "It's not fun to have a relationship being pushed on you. Besides, Kai's new in town, let him get his bearings first! Maybe bring your guys next time so he can hang out with dudes instead of us girls."

Kai gasped. "I'm offended! I'm one of you girls!"

Bella grinned as she looked at her friends. "You know what that means, right?"

"Shopping!" Angela and Jessica chorused gleefully.

"I fucking hate you," Kai groaned as they walked inside the Swan residence a few hours later. "I thought you couldn't shop in Forks, and you can't, but you just spent hours in Walmart!"

"With you," Bella pointed out with a grin as she dropped the bags on the table. "Charlie needed a few shirts anyway."

"A few?!" Kai pointed at the bag that had shirts coming out of it.

"There's underwear in there too," she nodded before she started to unpack all the bags with groceries. "You really went to town with the groceries, though, not even sure if it all fits."

Kai blinked at her. "More than half is yours!" He opened one of the bags, revealing a bag filled with chocolate. "You're comfort eating. Just because you're a vampire now, doesn't mean you should eat all of the chocolate."

"I'm not comfort eating," Bella huffed before she found a bottle of heavy liquor in the bag. "What the hell is this?"

He shrugged at her. "Kol said that alcohol with the big alcohol percentage helps with your hunger."

"I'm not hungry."

"No, but for when you are or feel anger set in, I mean, no offense, but you're the vampire in this tiny house with two humans."

"One human has a gun and the other can siphon magic out of me to protect himself," she then huffed. "I can control myself, Kai, don't worry. Besides, that bottle is freaking expensive."

Kai shrugged for an answer. "You have money that you don't use. Why not use it on booze?"

Bella looked at him with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"What? That's what you get when you keep your phone on the table when paying for our coffees, I snooped," he shrugged again. "With the money you have you could buy yourself and Charlie big houses, plural."

She narrowed her eyes on him, trying to contain her anger. Oh, she could feel it bubbling underneath her skin. "You took my phone and went through it?!" Bella yelled at him. "Don't you have any boundaries at all?!"

Kai smirked as he leaned against the table with his arms crossed over his chest. "Why aren't you doing anything with that money?"

"That is none of your fucking business!"

"Does your dad know?" When Bella remained silent, Kai sucked in a breath and a wicked grin appeared on his face. "You better tell me or I'm going to tell your dad that he can retire because his daughter is loaded!"

Bella pushed him against the furthest wall in the house and held him there. "That money was part of the agreement of the Cullens fucking leaving me the hell alone and leaving Forks. Half of it already went to charities and I had planned of using the remaining money for traveling and college. But I might just donate it all after paying my flight to Italy from it."

"Why?" Kai wasn't afraid of her, which wasn't good. "It's yours."

"Because that whole fucking contract was a ruse and the money is part of that. It's not my money."

"It is your money, it's in your account," Kai pointed out while his hand slid into his pocket and dialing Kol's number. Just in case things would get out of hand, and maybe he'd like to hear this, too. "Use it."

"I feel dirty when I use that money. It's going."

"Why?"

She growled as she pushed him again and then let go of him as she walked away. "Because it's a constant fucking reminder how I was screwed over, that's why! It's like a ball and chain and I could donate it all in one go, but then you'd get people asking you for more, and shit like that. It terrifies me. Money terrifies me and they know that, and that's why they gave me the money."

Kai shrugged. "It's just money. Have some fun with it. Don't let them get to you like that and just live. If there's one thing _you_ taught me is that life should be fun and enjoyed. And we'll get those assholes who hurt you," he said as he approached her again, cautiously. "Look, I could tell you to let go of your anger and guilt, but that won't work until you've gotten your revenge. And I get it, that was with me as well, but it's just money. Instead of seeing it as a ball and chain, see it as freedom."

"Why."

"Because, they're winning right now. You've erected a wall around yourself and it's very difficult to be let in. Likely the only person who's capable of doing that is your friend Jake from the Rez."

"That's not true."

"Even if that's not true, they're still winning with you not living your best life."

"Who are you, Dr. Phil?"

"Who?"

"Never mind," Bella let out a breath.

"Look, as your friend, I see you're struggling. Hell, your female friends noticed that too. Just… start enjoying life. Best revenge ever. And then we're going to crush those Cold Ones," Kai gently put a hand on her shoulder. "We don't like to see you suffer and you're clearly miserable, even more so after we came here. Just try."

"Alright, Dr. Phil."

"Again, who's Dr. Phil?"

Bella grabbed the bottle of expensive booze and pushed it into Kai's hands. "Enjoy. I'm going to clean all of this up before Charlie gets home," she said as she motioned around them before pointing at Kai's hand in his pocket. "Funny how you're likely calling for backup while you could have just knocked me out instead if you were afraid. Or, you know, you could have just kept your mouth shut."

"No," Kai said as he set the bottle down and blocked Bella from moving away from him. "Right now, I'm doing what you did to me. You helped me see the other side of things where I couldn't, and now I'm helping you. Did you even talk to someone after what Edward did to you?"

Bella scoffed. "As if, it would only bring someone in danger."

"You hung out with your friend Jake, didn't you? Oh, don't look so surprised, Bella, your dad loves to talk about you, and he sees and hears more than you may think," Kai grinned as he took a little bit of magic from her to freeze her into place and hoped that she'd be dumb enough not to realize that she could just siphon it away. He hopped on the counter and opened the bottle of booze before taking a large sip of it. "You never got drunk? Cried about your anger? You never told Jake about any of the shit you went through? Only after your magic came to light?"

"There was no need to, I felt fine with Jake. And then he ditched me, supposedly for a girl but he did it for my safety because he's a big fucking pony."

Kai took another sip of the alcohol and nodded. Kol had told him a lot about how he and Bella had met while Bella was out in Mystic Falls. A tiny angry brunette that made Kol feel all the things in the right places. But the ancient vampire was hurting, and so was the tiny angry brunette, and Kai wasn't taking any hostages.

Quite funny, considering he was always branded as an asshole, a loser, evil, and all that jazz.

Then again, Kol was as fucked up as he was, likely more, and Bella… despite her anger, both Kai and Kol were drawn to her like moths to a flame. And she needed to get rid of that anger - or at least accept it - to make her more pleasant to be around with. Kai was really afraid that she'd turn off her emotions like Kol had told him about. That wouldn't be good.

Well, it could be interesting. There was no doubt about that. "Fine, I'll back off," he eventually said.

But this was Bella. And Bella was kind. Kai wanted it to stay that way. She didn't deserve the darkness.

Yeah… maybe he shouldn't have drank from the bottle of alcohol himself. He had earlier brushed himself against Bella to get some magic and spell it with the feelings spell, hoping that Bella would drink it herself, but she thought it was too expensive. "In all honesty, this tastes like piss," he said as he handed her the bottle. "Get drunk and deal with the shit in your head. You'll feel better," Kai replied as he released her from his magic - something told him that she wasn't dumb but had simply allowed him to put it up in the first place. "I'll clean up and start cooking."

Kai then reached into his pocket and disconnected the call to Kol and watched as Bella took her first swig of the bottle. "Told you, tastes like piss, you'd think the more expensive the bottle…"

"It's great," Bella replied, blinking in surprise as she took another swig. "But I'm going to Jake tonight and my alcohol tolerance has gone up after turning so… yeah, not going to get drunk. For now it's not making me rip off your head for being a nosy nuisance."

"Hey! I take offense to that! Careful now, I might put vervain in your dinner tonight."

"Don't you dare," Bella said as she sat down on the couch and took another sip. "What am I going to do after we've dealt with the Volturi _and _the Cullens? I mean… I wondered that before, and Kol said that the possibilities are endless, but I can't just do whatever."

"Why not?" Kai replied as he opened a cupboard and started to put stuff away. "You're immortal now. You don't age. You have all the time in the world to do whatever. No need to feel guilty about it. Your friends will think you've landed yourself a rich boyfriend and he's taking you places… which… basically is true. But you're rich in your own right."

"Don't."

"Don't? Don't what? The Mikaelsons have been around for a thousand years, of course they have money to boot and I'm sure Kol wants to spoil you rotten."

"He's not my boyfriend and why not work for trips, you know? Get a job, save up…"

"Why would you if he's offering?"

"Because it's not fair! I didn't deserve it! Nor did I deserve the money Edward had to give me when we made up that fucking ridiculous contract! I didn't work for it!"

"Yeah, I know, but he did hurt you. He and his family did. You deserve their heads on a platter and all of their money. Humans would sue their assess off, but seeing as you're all supernatural and you're far more powerful than they are… I'd say take everything and have fun with it," Kai then grinned. "Built an epic home with all the stuff you ever wanted as a child and then some."

"With horses?"

"If you ever imagined yourself with horses… I mean, you'd have enough money to hire people to take care of your entire house, and your horses."

"What about a zoo?"

"A zoo?"

"Yeah," Bella said as she kicked off her shoes and took another sip of the alcohol before making herself comfortable. "Like… start a zoo. Free, for anyone to come and visit. We'd help endangered species thrive. Like… Uhm… Giraffes!"

"I thought you loved history?"

"I do! Maybe a zoo with the history of the animals and a museum attached to the zoo about the history of… stuff," she took another swig of the bottle. "Great ideas, Kai!"

That was so not what he had expected her to say. "Right. Your money."

"Exactly!"

"You wouldn't feel bad taking it when they're dead?"

"Well, from what I know, they earned that money by working, investing wisely… it's not as filthy as they are."

"And yet you don't want to accept the money you have now."

"That's different! That's basically…" Bella took another swig of her bottle as she thought of the words. "It's like paying a whore for services rendered. And I'm not a whore. I'm a stupid, dumb and emotional idiot who thought that she could trust some rich kid with a big family in a big house with fancy cars that she'd never get on her own. And they made her feel as if she was worthless, stupid and dumb and as if she needed to be taken care of like some porcelain doll," she rambled. "Well, they were correct. I'm a fucking fractured marionette who's fallen head over heels for another rich kid with a big family, a big house and fancy cars and he fucking makes me feel safe and that's so maddening because I doesn't want to rely on anyone and I'm not even sure if it's out of my own volition or if it's stupid pheromones again," she took a another sip. "And fuck, I wanted to go to Jake tonight, and he made me feel warm and cozy and happy, too. While I should have been dealing with this crap."

He suppressed a smile when she talked about Kol, the vampire would really love to know all of this. But for now, this was between her and Kai. He lifted the tub of ice cream out of one of the bags and grabbed a spoon before heading over to Bella and handed her the things. "You're not stupid and dumb. You were taken advantage of as a human. You're not a fractured marionette, but you're a beautiful soul," Kai smiled at her as he sat down on the table in front of her, taking the bottle away from her so she could eat the ice cream. "And it would be a shame to see your beautiful soul and your kind heart go to waste on feelings like anger and guilt. The Mikaelsons want to help you get you your revenge, and so do I, but you need to be open to more feelings before you ruin yourself."

"Yeah," she nodded as she tucked into her ice cream. "I feel drunk, why do I feel drunk?"

"Who cares?" Kai shrugged.

"You did something to me, didn't you?" Bella asked as she put a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "And that means I probably can get rid of it, too."

"But would you want to?"

She thought for a moment and shook her head. "I want more of the booze, and I'm going to cancel on Jake and the other puppies."

"Are you sure? Didn't you miss him the last few months when you were trying to be friends with me?"

"I didn't try, it just happened," Bella snorted as she playfully nudged his knee with her foot. "And I'm really glad that you and Kol get along so well."

Kai had expected tears by now. Crying. Angry and ugly sobbing, maybe. She'd had a lot of spelled alcohol already but he handed the bottle back nevertheless. If she wasn't going to Jake, what harm could it be? His magic was sound, he knew what he was doing. It was quite the possibility he wouldn't survive Kol's wrath, as there was no doubt that the vampire was on his way back by now. Then again, Bella would make sure nothing would happen to him.

She took a few long gulps from the bottle and went back to her ice cream. "You're lucky my dad isn't home."

"He's working late today," Kai nodded. "You want to talk some more about how you were wronged and you're still holding on to it?"

"You were wronged and held on to it even in your timeout," she countered. "Don't pretend you're better than I am. Your problems have been solved."

"But so have yours! They can't go after you now, because you're a supernatural being yourself. Stop moping, Kol already told me you wiped the floor with an army of newborns."

Bella hummed as she shoveled some ice cream into her mouth.

"And if you're afraid, you shouldn't be. You have Original Vampires as friends standing right behind you and me, a pretty powerful witch if you ask me when I'm all juiced up. And you. The siphoner vampire hybrid. Pretty kickass yourself."

Bella grinned and nodded in agreement. "On a scale from 1 to 10, how nauseated do you feel right now for trying to make me think differently?"

Kai started to laugh. "A thousand, but you're worth the hassle. I'm going to make food."

~o.O.o~

Bella still wasn't sure what Kai had done to her, but she felt lighter. She had had an extraordinary good sleep, likely a mix of what Kai had done and the empty bottle of alcohol that was standing next to her bed, but she felt ready.

Because Kai had been right. For some reason, she didn't allow herself to have a life while the Cold Ones were still alive. So they had to go. And then she could start enjoying herself a bit more. Kai wanted to come with, of course, and she wasn't going to refuse him. These past few days had done him good, and even though he had siphoned magic from her without her knowing, he'd behaved himself.

They told Charlie that they were invited by the Mikaelsons to go on a trip to Europe, and Charlie thought that was really thoughtful of them. Charlie had such a good heart, it made Bella realize that it was a good thing that Kol had come prepared in Mystic Falls and she hadn't actually died. She couldn't do that to Charlie. Ever.

Bella knocked on the door of the Mikaelson home and Myriam opened with a confused look on her face. "I was going to come by you in about an hour to give you some blood, are you hungry?"

"No," Bella smiled. "I was merely wondering if you'd like to join me and Kai to Italy and deal with the Volturi."

"We said we would, didn't we?" Myriam smiled at her as she put an arm around Bella and looked at Kai for a moment. "You're more than welcome inside as well. Just don't touch anyone."

"I'll behave," Kai replied. "I can behave."

"Good, because while Bella and Kol may like you, we don't know you that well yet," she said as she motioned for him to enter the house too. "Klaus!" Myriam called out as they walked towards the living room. "Bella wants to go to Italy and play with some Cold One Kings!"

"Excellent," Klaus' voice sounded as he descended the stairs. "I was wondering when you'd want to do that." Bella looked lighter somehow, she had a glow on her face that one would normally link to intercourse but his nose told him that this wasn't the case. Good. Kol had already staked a claim on the girl. Things would get messy if Kai would have taken advantage of her. "Elijah has already gone ahead to make sure our home in Rome is suitable for guests."

"Kol and Rebekah are already in Seattle, so let's go!" Myriam said enthusiastically. "We'll grab a bite on the way."

Bella was confused for a moment. "Just like that?"

"Why do you ask, love? We've already told you we'd help you fight your demons and get rid of your problems. Nothing's changed now that you're supernatural yourself," Klaus replied with a smile on his face. "We all love a good fight. All I ask is not to end it prematurely. We'd like to have some fun as well."

"Okay," Bella shrugged. "I mean… I'll try."

~o.O.o.~

Kol and Rebekah were waiting for them at the airport and as soon as Kai exited the car, Kol slammed him against it. "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!"

"Woah, chill!" Kai put his hands up as Kol smacked him against the car again. "What did I do now?"

"Oh, here we go again," Rebekah sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you brought this upon yourself, you decided to give him a call while you were antagonizing Bella."

"I wasn't!" Kai let out a groan as he got smacked into the car again.

"I had to break his neck," she replied as a matter of factly. "I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"You see, I knew it was a bad idea for you living at Bella's place. You can't be trusted!"

"Hey!" Bella moved between Kol and Kai and pushed Kol away from her friend. "I'm fine, leave him alone. No need for a turf war, you know I'm not interested in him like that. And once we can be alone and away from vampire hearing, you and I are going to have a chat."

"Oh no," Myriam shook her head upon realizing what was going on. While Bella was quite level headed, she was still a new vamp. And Kol really liked to let himself go when it comes to his emotions concerning Bella, and the whole 'we'll talk later' thing would not end well. "You two go inside the car, cast a privacy spell and you're going to have that chat now. I don't want him on a plane like this because he'll just keep moping and lashing out and we'll have to break his neck and then you'll likely flip out because of it, so yeah, go have that chat before we embark on a 12-hour flight."

"I wouldn't!" Bella said offended.

"Really?" Myriam smirked. "Because while you had a lid on yourself while you were human, you're not that stable as a vampire yet," she pointed out. "You may think you do, but I don't think you do."

"Yes, I am."

"No, she's not," Kai shook his head. "But hey, let's test out that theory!" Kai grabbed hold of Bella and with a flick of his wrist, he managed to snap Kol's neck. He immediately let go of Bella and saw her face fall as Kol dropped to the ground.

Rebekah sighed as she watched the young vampire quickly make her way over to her brother. "Perhaps it's a wise decision to stay the night in a hotel and leave tomorrow," she said and covered her ears when Bella started to yell at Kai for breaking Kol's neck as she cradled Kol's limp body. Bella then went from angry to sad at the drop of a hat. And back to angry.

"Yep," Myriam nodded in agreement before looking at Kai. "I have no idea what you did to Bella to make her more open to… things, but I like it."

Kai huffed. "She's annoying this way. But I figured it'd be the best way forward, I didn't like the story about rippers and vampires turning their emotions off." He then saw Bella look at him with a murderous look on her face. "That being said, I'll follow you guys but I seem to have poked a bear. _Invisique._"

"Screw you, Kai!" Bella yelled at him before the lights went out for her.

~o.O.o~

When Bella woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room and she felt even more agitated than that she could remember. Sitting up, she rolled her neck before heading to the door and tried to open it, but whatever she tried, the door seemed to move away from her. She couldn't reach the knob. "What the fuck."

"Congratulations," Kol remarked from his spot in the corner, she hadn't seen him after she'd woken up, and he didn't care. Right now he just wanted to kill Kai, and he couldn't. "You survived your first time getting your neck snapped for throwing a temper tantrum."

"Kai snapped your neck," Bella turned around as she looked at him. "It wasn't fair."

"And then my sister snapped yours, or so I've been told," he said as he held up his phone. "As it turns out, Kai spelled this room for the safety of the people in this hotel until you and I have a chat."

"We're fine, we can talk when we're there."

Kol let out a sigh as he pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards her. "Kai snapped my neck to prove to you that Myriam was right," he said, slightly frustrated. "And because I was a dick, but that's beside the point. I would have been fine for the trip, if you weren't around after what happened with Kai last night. With you on the plane, I suppose there'd be a lot more neck snapping and threats of being daggered."

"The fuck."

"You see, Kai wasn't just playing with you last night, with whatever he did to you. He called _me_ while he was doing it, and I'm sorry, Bella, but that's going too far. He wasn't supposed to mess with you like that. It was a bad idea to have him stay with you and your dad."

"What Kai did, was lower my defenses to show me some sense," she explained calmly, not moving as he kept carefully approaching her. "I was highly irrational about certain things and some connections didn't make sense so everything was irrational. Kai showed me that it didn't matter. None of it. And just what I want. What I feel. And that the Earth keeps turning even though I was standing still," she let out a breath as she looked at Kol who was now standing toe to toe with her. "Don't be angry with Kai. He used magic, I could have gotten rid of the effects if I wanted to."

"Just like you could siphon the magic away from the door."

Bella nodded. "And I will, but maybe we should talk like they want us to."

"Why talk, darling? There are so many interesting things I could do with you where words would be unnecessary," Kol said as he pushed her against the wall and locked her in with his arms. "What do you remember from reading Nik's journal that Myriam gave you for Christmas? It was about Nik's early days as a vampire, wasn't it?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Heightened senses and emotions."

"I know about those," Bella replied as she looked up at him with half a smile. "It's what caused you to freak out about what Kai did."

"And you to get angry with him for snapping my neck," Kol pointed out. "Myriam and my siblings have been telling me for years, this, and I honestly never cared for it, but I know that I have less of a control over my actions and emotions than my family does. I never cared to learn control, because why would I? They'd put me down in a box anyway when I was too much of a handful," he tried to get even closer, but he didn't want to miss looking at her beautiful face. "They only released me because either Myriam complained about it or they needed me to do their dirty work, but I already told you this."

"And you don't scare me."

"That's because you don't see danger when it's right in front of you," Kol barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "In any case, my anger towards Kai right now is that he messed with you, and you already know how I feel about you. And there's this extreme sense of loyalty that comes with those feelings and I can't …. I _won't_, control it. Because you make me happy. I only went to Seattle after we returned from Mystic Falls to let off some steam. Because if I hadn't, I would have done so in Forks eventually. I know you and I had plans after we've dealt with your nightmare, but being patient when it comes to you…" He let out a breath. "And after what Kai pulled…"

"How many times do I have to tell you to be just yourself with me? I don't like it when you run off to let off steam, it feels like you're running away from me."

"I don't want to break you, darling."

"Well," she smiled at him then. "I've been told I'm pretty unbreakable nowadays. If you stop hiding and treading carefully, I promise I will," she finally put her arms around his neck and grinned. "Let's both stop thinking what's best for each other. All of me is yours if you want it."

"Bella, I-"

"Shut up and kiss me."


	18. Chapter 18

Bella didn't even want to stay in Rome for a few hours, but she had to because Kai needed to be well rested. They had come up with a plan to deal with the Volturi while on the plane and it was deliciously evil. Bella loved it. She was surprised that everyone was onboard with it, but, then again, it was also the best way for all of them to get into the Volturi castle partially undetected.

It was a crazy plan and both her and Kai weren't sure if they'd be successful, but mostly Bella. Kai was convinced that they were able to pull it off without something going wrong, which eased Bella's mind somewhat. Hell yeah, they were kickass.

Bella's whole body was buzzing with excitement and it was difficult to contain, even when they were still on the plane. They all came close to snapping her neck but didn't.

As soon as they left the plane, Kol took her to do some things that tourists usually didn't do. Oh, sure, Bella loved history but Kol figured that it wasn't really something she could use right now, so he was going to have some fun.

They didn't go to the Trevi fountain or climb the Colosseum, no, Kol took her to pasta making class. He then took her to the Coppedè district, _the_ place in Rome looking like a fairy tale. And, because she wasn't tired enough and still pretty much pumped, he took her to the San Lorenzo district as well, where they looked at the beautiful graffiti which was more of an art and had some of the best food Bella had ever tasted.

And alright, fine, when it was late and dark and the Colosseum was deserted, Kol took Bella there and they had sex in the middle of the ancient building. Bella thought it was 'wild'. Kol right there and then decided that he was going to make an exhibitionist out of her. Having sex in the middle of an abandoned ancient building wasn't 'wild'. It was tame compared to what he had in mind for future escapades.

To hell with taking things slow. They'd done enough of that.

~o.O.o~

"Mr. Mikaelson, what's so important that you couldn't send one of your vampires?" Aro greeted Elijah, who had just walked into the throne room that held the Volturi Kings. "You always do that whenever one of my kind crosses a line according to you."

"Ah, well, that's because I'm not here because of one of your kind's indiscretions. Or perhaps I am," Elijah said as he took the contract out of his jacket pocket. "I found this on a girl in Forks, Washington."

"Ah." Aro looked like he was a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Ah, indeed," Elijah replied, an amused smile on his face. "Have you gone soft, Aro? Isn't it one of your rules that states that humans are to be turned or killed upon learning your secret?"

"Tell me, Elijah," Aro said as he approached him. "Why does this interest you so?"

"It doesn't," Elijah replied. "I was merely wondering if you'd fallen off your faith. If this girl is so important to you…"

"Miss Swan is none of your concern and you will not harm her."

Elijah sucked in a breath. "She is special, isn't she? Her mind is a fortress, I'm certain you wish for her to join your guard. That's why you gave her a contract, in the hopes that she'd break it. Tell me, did you punish the Cold Ones responsible for her torment?" Elijah huffed when he saw the look on Aro's face. "Of course not. They're special and you still hold out hope that they will join your guard. Oh, don't look so surprised, Aro, my brother is fascinated by gifted individuals as well, I know the look."

"If either yourself or Niklaus-"

"Oh, it's not us you have to worry about," Elijah said amused as he watched the guard come in to protect their masters, just as Bella had predicted. "But honestly, Aro, I come in peace and you want to threaten me?"

"Ah, the jig's up," Kol said as Kai let go of him. The shocked look on the Cold One's faces was hilarious. You don't get to see an entire family appear out of nowhere all the time. Yes. Kai was family. He had no idea where Bella was, but she was likely doing something on her own to get the greatest satisfaction. "I've touched Miss Swan," he replied as he watched Kai take apart one of the guards with a spell, Jane, was it? "Several times, actually. Last night was amazing."

Aro seemingly ignored the demise of his Jane. "You brought her to us? Where is she?"

"We've come to tell you that you can shove that contract up your collective asses," Kai said as he shot another spell at one of the guards and made him crumble apart. "Bella, come on, we came here to do some killing, when will you let us?"

Bella giggled as she appeared in front of Marcus, full vamp face. "Hi," she used her magic to obtain her contract from Elijah and started to rip it apart in front of him. "As you can see, I'm clearly no longer human," she then ripped Marcus' head straight off and kicked it to the other end of the room before she pounced on Caius. "Did you know that I killed a newborn army _and_ Victoria? It was an accident, though."

"Darling, you look as if you're going to give him a dance," Kol said, appearing next to her. "Behave."

"Fuck that, I'm not going to have her kill everyone again," Myriam said as she pulled Klaus along with her and started to take apart the nearest Cold One.

"Careful, love," Klaus reminded her as he ripped off the arms of the nearest Cold One that Myriam was taking apart. "Their venom hurts."

"I know!" Myriam laughed maniacally.

Soon enough, the throne room was covered in limbs and venom. Bella had made the mistake of picking a physical fight with Felix and she was slightly dented, if it weren't for Kai using his magic on Felix she'd have ended up even more dented, but she didn't feel it. No, she was elated. More Cold Ones poured into the room, Bella slipped out, looking for more Cold Ones in the castle.

Both she and Kai could easily take on the Cold Ones without a fight, but she knew that everyone wanted to get a punch in, and bored with holding back, perhaps slightly horrified by her own murderous thoughts, she went exploring. Maybe the Cold Ones had a human somewhere she could feed on to stop her cheek from itching.

She just wanted to kill. And that was a terrifying thought. She also felt slightly disturbed by the fact that she was… horny?

As she found her way to the dungeons, she could hear others there, but they didn't smell human. They were Cold Ones, locked up for some reason or another. Not all Cold Ones were evil. Bella knew this. Or at least hoped that they wouldn't be. And for the Volturi to lock up some Cold Ones in their own dungeon likely meant that these people had done some horrific things.

Or, knowing the deceitful nature of the Kings, these people tried to do good and broke a few laws.

But still, it smelled down here and she was pretty sure she heard some rats walking around.

"I'm sure that by now you've heard the massacre upstairs," Bella called out with confidence as she walked down the hall. "Tell me your crimes and maybe I'll let you live."

"Bella?"

Bella's head snapped to the right and peered into the holding cell from a distance, anger bubbling underneath her skin. And fear. She had not expected him to be here. And she wasn't sure if it was safe to linger. Taking a few steps back until she felt the wall against her back, she kept her eyes on the Cold One in the prison, he was not going to influence her, not if she could help it.

She wasn't ready.

Bella used her vampire speed to find her way back to Kol and let out a deep breath. Safe.

Kol pushed the Cold One towards Myriam before turning around and putting his arms around Bella in the midst of all the fighting. "What's wrong, darling?"

"I'm not ready," she held him tightly and breathed in his scent to try and calm herself down. "I found their dungeons."

"Any humans to feed on to heal your beautiful face?" He lifted her chin with his finger to make her look up to him, and he saw fear in her eyes, worrying him. "Who's down there?"

"Jasper."

"Jasper? That guy who can influence emotions?"

Bella nodded.

Kol laughed then and kissed the top of her head. "He's no match for you, why are you afraid? You can take your revenge on him today!" When he saw the fear make way for confusion, he grinned and took her hand. "Lead the way. Honestly, aside from Nik, you're the most powerful being in this castle at this very moment and you're afraid of one Cold One?"

She blinked as she let his words hit home. "Well, obviously I'm stupid."

"Nah, you're not," Kol smiled at her. "You just allowed fear to make you forget that you're no longer a weak little human. But hey, at least you didn't travel back in time to find me!"

She narrowed her eyes on him. "I could if you want me to."

"No!"

"I came running to you instead," Bella poked him in the ribs as she led him down to the dungeons. "Less effort." When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she pointed towards the cell that held Jasper Whitlock. "He's in there. And while I really want to hurt him, kill him, I'm also wondering why he's here."

"Then ask him, darling," Kol winked at her as he let go of her. "I'll be right here. You don't need me to be by your side."

"But what if I want you to be?"

"You've got this. This is your party. You're in control. You're stronger than him now," he said calmly. "And once you're done here, you and I are going out to have a snack and compel some humans to clean up the mess we've made in this castle," he brushed her lips with his. "You're in control."

"Kol."

"Well, I'd rather go in and rip his head off, but this isn't my story, it's yours. If you want to have a chat with him, go and have a chat with him. Besides, this might be the only chance you'll have to talk with one of your tormentors as you'll likely see red when we find Sparkling Eddie and might not be able to control yourself. I know that I won't be able to."

She softly kissed him. "Thank you," she replied before walking back over to the cell that held Jasper, using her magic to kill the rest of the Cold Ones in the area as not to leave any witnesses.

"Babe! I wanted to kill them!" Kol laughed as he saw the dust come out of the prison cells.

Bella looked at the prison cell which was built to keep a Cold One in, there was no way that she could open it with her own vampire strength, but she could likely with her magic. But she didn't want to. Because Jasper was still dangerous. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of your coven, living in Alaska until I cross the line or decide I want Edward back?"

"I turned myself in for the hand I had in your experience with us."

Bella was surprised to hear that, and she couldn't hide her surprise either but she didn't know what to say. Jasper looked like he could do with a good shower, his blonde hair a good brush. He looked semi-decent, he was likely feeding off of the rats in the dungeon. The anger in his eyes was still there, but it seemed as if he was more angry with himself now. "What? You left Alice?"

It was strange to see him covered in so many scars. They hadn't been that visible to the human eye, but now that she had better vision, he was simply covered in them. It only drove home more that he was dangerous. It was a good thing she hadn't opened the cell, while Bella had her magic, she was likely not fast enough to stop him from killing her. It was best not to give him any opportunities.

A small smile appeared on Jasper's lips then. "I told you, I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings," he replied, a slight drawl in his voice. "I joined my Alice with her family because I loved her, I still do, and for awhile it was good. Perfect. Until you."

"You actively participated."

"Because I was afraid to lose Alice, which inevitably happened as my conscience made that happen. I turned myself over to the Volturi after we left Forks, I've been here ever since. Aro doesn't even want me as a part of the guard. Not until they got you."

Either he wasn't trying to influence her, or he wasn't able to anymore. "Aro's dead."

"I gathered with all the noise upstairs. Who killed him?"

"I did," she replied. "Things have happened." Bella wasn't surprised that Jasper wasn't even apologizing. Or not in the right words. "And you're an idiot for turning yourself in."

"Perhaps," Jasper replied with a small shrug. "You didn't deserve the treatment we gave you. We should have lived by the rules set by the Volturi, we should have killed you or turned you. Not try to make you absolutely perfect for Edward."

Before Bella knew it, Kol was reaching through the bars and pulled Jasper against them. "She _is_ absolutely perfect," he said venom dripping from his voice. "You lot are nothing but vermin, a blight upon this earth. You are lucky that I'm trusting Bella to do the right thing for you or I'd have killed you myself!"

"I suppose that's a fair punishment," Jasper said evenly. "Aro kept me here, unsure of my loyalty or my willingness to join the Guard to pay for my sins."

"I have a better idea," Bella said as she put her hand on Kol's arm. "I think. Let him go."

Kol snapped his head to her before letting go of Jasper, relenting. He wanted to help her get rid of her nightmares so she wouldn't have to, but she was determined to do it herself now. And her ideas were wicked, she was the one who came up with the idea of going in invisible aside from Elijah. "What is it, darling?"

"Can you compel his kind?"

Good point. "I can't, but perhaps Nik can, seeing as he's the Original Hybrid, and more powerful than any of us."

She smiled widely then before running upstairs and pulling Klaus along with her to the dungeons. "Can you compel Cold Ones?"

Klaus looked at his brother and his girlfriend with some confusion on his face before he looked at the Cold One, _Jasper_. Oh, he knew who he was. "Major."

"Klaus."

"You know him?" Kol said surprised.

"We've met a few times before he joined the Cullens," Klaus sighed. "And I have no idea if I can compel a Cold One, but I'd like to try, what's going on in that pretty little mind of yours, Bella?"

"I'd like him to rejoin the Cullens in Alaska, inform them what went on here and that he wants to be safe. He won't tell them that we're coming for them, but when we do come for them, he'll kill his wife."

"And then what?"

Bella thought for a moment. There was no doubt in her mind that apart from the Denali's, they had other Cold Ones gathered around them in Alaska for protection or company. "He'll then fight on our side and we'll see after the fight what we'll do with him."

"I say kill," Kol nodded.

"Maybe," Bella replied as she looked at him. "But Jasper never lied to me, he was always honest. Apart from the whole emotion control thing. He might come out as a good man after all of this."

Kol wasn't too happy about this idea. But Bella had a good heart, and she knew the Cullens and their family better than any one of them. "We'll see."

After Klaus compelled Jasper to go along on his merry way, they went back upstairs to the throne room where everyone had stopped fighting and according to Kai there was no Cold One left in the castle.

"So, can Kai and I set the place on fire?" Bella asked as she used Aro's head as a football and kicked him to the other side of the room.

"No!" Elijah said shocked. "Have you lost your mind?"

Bella looked at Kol and Kai, who both shrugged before she nodded. "Yep! But tell me why."

"I want to salvage their ancient books and items," Elijah remarked dryly. "You can use your magic to get all the bits and pieces outside of the castle and set them on fire outside, but do not ruin this castle just yet."

Bella pouted then. "Or Kai and I could use our magic to get the books out."

Kol let out a snort and put his arm around her shoulders. He would have said the exact same thing, although he also had to agree with Elijah. The Volturi could have some priceless knick knacks for their own collection. "How about you and I are going to find us some humans to eat and to compel to clean up our mess? Then, once they're all outside, we'll make a bonfire."

"Okay."

"Not you, Mr. Parker," Elijah quickly grabbed his sleeve. "You may be more useful with us inside."

"But…"

"Trust me," Rebekah purred as she put an arm around Kai and started to follow her big brother. "You don't want to be around Kol and Bella right now, nor around Myriam and Niklaus. Besides, we couldn't possibly know if an item holds magic and if it will hurt us, and you can."


	19. Chapter 19

Klaus, Rebekah and Myriam went back to America while Elijah and Kai remained in Volterra to sort through the Volturi King's library and artifacts and Bella and Kol went to Egypt. Kai didn't care as long as Elijah allowed him some fun too. Granted, he wanted to stay with Bella and Kol, but it was all about divide and conquer, wasn't it?

Bella wanted to be sure that the Egyptians couldn't step up and grab power. They were really hard to find though and it took Bella and Kol two weeks to find them, but only two minutes for Bella to end them.

Kol happily tagged along, feeling a bit useless as he did, because Bella did all the work. She shouldn't do all the work by herself. And it also made him wonder what she'd do when the Cullens were dead. When she had her revenge and could live her life freely. What would she do?

He knew what he wanted. He wanted to take her all over the world and enjoy themselves. The occasional killing spree here and there, but just enjoy the beauty of the world. Hang out with witches, have her learn from other people.

Kol wanted Bella to be completely his. Not distracted by her past, or having to take care of her father. He wanted her carefree and by his side.

And that couldn't happen until all her demons were gone.

After Egypt, they went back to Forks for a week, Bella wanted to spend some time with her father and show the awesome pictures they'd taken… without showing the pictures of their Cold One massacres of course. Kol stayed clear of Charlie Swan while Bella was home and instead ran some errands - such as picking up their diplomas. For Bella it was something special, and he was going to frame it for her.

No, he was glad that Chief Swan didn't know that his daughter was dating. Or that he was a vampire. Or that his daughter was a heretic. Bella had already texted him pictures of strands of garlic hanging in the house because it was claimed by the people on the rez that it kept out bad spirits. That gave Kol a proper giggle. Those people didn't know anything about vampires, only Cold Ones and even then, their information was scarce. They were dumb as bricks. It was hilarious. People were such playthings.

On their third or fourth day back, Kol was thoroughly enjoying his new music setup and his gaming setup, kicking ass on Call of Duty, when all of a sudden he heard Myriam yell for him. Choosing to ignore her, he kept on playing before the power went off. "Nik!" He stormed out of his room to find the circuit breaker and when he did, Myriam was next to it, with a devious smile on his face. "I wasn't making that much noise."

"No, but you didn't come downstairs when I called for you, either," she said as she flipped the switch back on and dragged Kol with her. "You've been home for 3 days and already in trouble with the law?"

"No?"

"No?" Myriam echoed before opening the front door, revealing Charlie Swan standing on the doorstep. "If you're not in trouble, Kol, then please do explain why Sheriff Swan is here for you."

Okay so Kol was a big, scary vampire, the one his brothers tend to use as an attack dog - and Kol let them - but Charlie Swan could make any tough guy shiver in their boots. Especially when that guy was dating their daughter without informing him. "I did pay that traffic fine, sheriff," he eventually said.

"I know that," Charlie replied. "I'm here to invite you to dinner, seeing as you've been spending so much time with my Bells. Tonight at seven. Don't be late."

"But I can't, sir. I have plans."

Charlie sighed. "Either you come to dinner tonight or I'll arrest you."

"That's abuse of power!" Kol sputtered.

Charlie shrugged. "Seven. Bella will be cooking." With that, Charlie turned around, walked off the steps and went back to his car and Kol just looked at Bella's father with a shocked look on his face.

"Ah, young love," Myriam laughed as she slapped Kol on the shoulder and closed the door for him as she pulled him back. "Why didn't you just compel him?"

"Bella would kill me," Kol groaned as he ran a hand over his face. "I don't do in-laws, Myriam. If I date someone it's just me and her. Not everything around it. Like parents!"

"And her friends, too," Myriam laughed.

"Her annoying friends! Did you know, that not once they messaged her while we were gone? That she was always the one to message them first? Sure, they might be busy, but still. I don't do stuff like this."

Myriam merely smirked.

"What!"

"You're being domesticated. I love it," she replied with a shrug. "You may want to get cleaned up before you go over tonight."

Kol grumbled as he headed back to his room, turned on his music again and continued to play his game after texting Bella. _WTF?_

_Couldn't stop him, he saw too many pictures with you in it. I refused to invite you over as I know you don't like stuff like this. Charlie's going to interrogate you about me and your intentions._

_Oh great. Just great. I should have just allowed him to arrest me!_

_Relax. You'll be alright._

_Yes. I will. Because I will compel him and you can't stop me._

Kol didn't like the silence.

_Fine_.

No, it wasn't fine. He was fucked. _I'm sorry_.

_No, it's fine, but if you'd just give him a chance. He's concerned for his only daughter and worried. I didn't tell him that we were together, though. Just friends who like to hang out with each other._

Maybe he wasn't fucked. He just didn't do parents.

~o.O.o~

Bella felt nervous. Not for herself, but for Kol. Kol likely didn't have to deal with fathers in the past, other than his own, and Charlie wasn't just any father. He was Charlie. And the Chief of Police. It had been different with Edward, it had been brief, and she was the one telling her father that Edward wanted to meet him, officially.

And a gun was involved.

But for Charlie to invite Kol over like that? Yeah, that was scary.

"Dad," she said as she looked at him from her spot in the kitchen. "Could you be nice to him?"

"Why? Because he's important to you?"

Bella nodded.

"Wasn't that what you said when that Cullen boy wanted to introduce himself to me as your boyfriend?" Charlie countered. "Am I going to be nice? Sure. Will he have it easy? No. Even though you're old enough to make your own decisions and don't have to listen to your old man, you are going to listen to your old man," he added. "I will not allow a boy to hurt you the way that the Cullen boy did."

"He's not like Edward at all."

"He's from a big, well-established family, living in the same house, driving ridiculously expensive cars - although I believe he did get a suitable car last winter - and there are many parallels between him and the other boy," Charlie berated her. "And, he took you on trips."

She let out a snort.

"Multiple times in the last few months," he took a sip of his beer. "So, you're going to allow me to be a hardass to make sure that I'm satisfied that my little girl will not be hurt anymore, got it?"

"Got it."

Charlie walked over to the kitchen and pulled Bella into a hug. "I rarely get to see you these days. All those school trips before your graduation… I just don't want him to manipulate you the way Edward did. Like him telling you you needed to leave me after your baseball outing… that still hurts even if he returned you later. With a broken foot."

"I love you too, dad," Bella smiled at him. Yes, if anything would go wrong, they'd compel him, but she didn't want that. She wanted her dad and Kol to get along the normal way.

"To be honest, I thought you'd have a thing for Kai but yeah, that surprised me," Charlie deadpanned as he went back to his beer. "He's a good kid."

"Kai?" Bella laughed. "Dad, please. He's so not my type. We're having fun, that's all."

"Uhuh."

She shook her head as she could hear Kol park his car outside. "Play nice, it's been a while since he had to deal with a parent."

"Right."

She then wiped her hands on a towel and opened the door for Kol, he was slightly fidgety but he carried a six pack of beer for Charlie and a box of chocolate for Bella and he just looked so out of place and adorable, she couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Kol whined. "I made an effort!"

"You look cute," she grinned and kissed his cheek before letting him inside. "Dad, Kol's here. Dinner's ready in 15 minutes," she said as she lead Kol to the table where her dad was sitting before she took the beer from Kol to put it in the fridge. "Play nice you two."

"I'm always nice," Charlie huffed. "Nice to see you again, Kol."

"You too, Chief Swan," Kol said as he sat down and put the beer down in front of Charlie. "My apologies that we were gone so often for extra credits for school."

Charlie eyed him for a moment. "It was a little strange, I have to admit."

"Myriam arranged it."

"Uhuh," Charlie nodded. "Well, at least you two graduated. What's next? What college have you been accepted into?" Charlie nodded towards Bella in the kitchen. "She was late sending in her stuff."

"As was I," Kol grinned. "I'm not certain what's next. Perhaps travel the world for a year, learn new things that way."

"With my daughter?"

"If she wants to, yes."

Charlie took a sip of his beer. "And how are you two going to afford all of that?"

Kol smiled then, slightly embarrassed. Bella was surprised by his acting. "I do believe that it's no secret that my family has money, Chief Swan. My brothers are more than happy to fund our trips, making sure that your daughter is very well taken care of. They're even happy to put us up in safe, secure hotels."

"That'll be a lot of money."

"Not really, at least not for my family. It's slightly embarrassing, you know. But they believe that I deserve it and if Bella wants to come along, everything will be paid for as well."

"Seperate rooms?"

Kol nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Chief Swan, your daughter and I are dating, while I promise to be nothing but honorable towards her, are you really going to insist on seperate rooms? We're both 18."

Bella glared over to Charlie as she was finishing up on dinner. She could almost see the cogs spin inside his mind. "As long as you guys do things safely," Charlie eventually said, surprising Bella as she brought one of the dishes to the table. "I'm not old enough to be a grandfather yet."

Kol let out a snort. "There are no plans for that, sir."

If only Charlie knew. Bella kissed her dad on the cheek before returning to the kitchen to get the rest of the food. "No, dad, we're still too young for that. Give us some credit."

Charlie hummed. "Where do you see yourself in five years, Kol?"

"Well, hopefully your daughter won't have gotten bored of me by then."

"Hey!" Bella said defensively. "I'd never!" She set the plates down and made sure everything was off in the kitchen and on the table before sitting down next to Kol.

"We'd preferably live somewhere away from my family," Kol added as he thought for a moment. "And be happy."

"What about a job? College?"

"That too," Kol pointed out quickly, knowing that humans liked that sort of thing. "Perhaps become a teacher." Something low-risk would appease Bella's father, right? "In any case, there's plenty of time to figure it out. I'm still young." Ha. If only. "My family lives to enjoy every single day there is with people you love to spend time with, because life is short enough."

"Fair enough," Charlie hummed. "Will you ever get in Bella's way if she decides she wants more?"

"More?"

"If she's tired of traveling around with you or if she chooses to go to a college that's not the one you want to go to?"

"Of course? What kind of question is that?"

"Plate up, don't want the food to get cold," Bella muttered as she got up to pour her and Kol a drink before returning to the table. "This is very embarrassing, dad. Kol's nothing but good to me. Treats me like a princess."

Charlie eyed his daughter before relenting with a sigh. "Very well," he replied as he looked at Kol. "I did a background check on you," he deadpanned, causing Kol to spit out his drink. "And up until recently, there's no trace of you and your siblings. I found some newspaper articles dating as far back as the 1800s in New Orleans about your ancestors, but it appears that you never existed. What are you hiding?"

Kol didn't pale and didn't hesitate with his reply. "Nothing, because you're right. Our family lived off grid, akin to nomads, very anti-government of any country and didn't bother to register or get a social ID."

"Then how did your family earn your money?"

Kol sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "We had someone in place for us, their entire family, actually. I'm sure that if you'd look up Richard Smith you'd get a lot of information."

"That's the most common name there is!"

Kol shrugged. "I understand that you may be a bit wary about the lack of history my family has, but I assure you, we all have identification, social security numbers and whatnot. We wanted to belong."

Bella saw the look on her father's face. "Yeah, maybe that's too much of a conspiracy theorist kind of thing and he won't like that, at all," she said as she looked at Kol. "Just compel him. He asked all the questions he wanted and he was satisfied by your answers, and make him forget what you just said."

He smiled knowingly then before compelling Charlie. Charlie was satisfied with all the answers Kol had given him, they had a great chat, and were now going to eat dinner while Charlie accepted Kol as Bella's boyfriend.

Charlie's face stiffened, his eyebrows furrowed. "Get the hell out of my house," he grumbled. "I didn't want to believe Joshua Parker, give you the benefit of the doubt, but get the hell out and stay away from my daughter."

Bella felt the color drain from her face as she looked at Kol who had a flabbergasted look on his face before looking back at her father. "Dad?"

"Used to be the stuff of legends, vampires. Then Joshua Parker called me," Charlie said as he rose from his chair and headed to his weapon's locker. "Saying that my daughter came for guidance because she's a witch, and that she had her vampire boyfriend with her. Told me all about vampires, he did."

"Dad, Joshua Parker was an idiot."

"Oh, that's exactly what I told him when he said that you were an abomination, Bella, you'd never hurt anyone, but him? He lives on blood and violence," Charlie turned around with his crossbow.

"Oh please," Kol scoffed.

Bella got on her feet. "Dad, don't."

"I won't, unless he leaves this house. Right now."

"No," Bella said as she walked to her father and pulled the crossbow out of his hands without even as a struggle, but Charlie didn't seem to notice. "Have you lost your mind? Why listen to some random stranger and not me?"

"Because you told me that you went to Portland for a school trip, Bella, you lied to me."

"I'm an adult, and more importantly, I wanted to shield you from this."

"Bella, I'm your father and it's my job to protect you from everything. Even vampires," he replied angrily. "What else is there? Unicorns? Werewolves?"

"Good job, where were you when she was in deep with the Cullens?" Kol muttered as he uncomfortably shifted on his feet. Bella thought the world of her father, and to see him like this hurt, mostly because it hurt Bella. He didn't care, although some acceptance would have been nice.

"Dad, whatever Joshua Parker has told you, not all vampires are bad, just like not all humans are criminals," she said calmly as she placed the crossbow on the table. "You see, Joshua Parker was the monster. He didn't care about his children, only about his coven and power. He was afraid of me, and he hurt me when I met him. I had to defend myself. And he killed me. If it wasn't for Kol, I wouldn't be here right now, talking to you," she added before seeing the look on his face. "And I'm sorry, dad, but you can't remember all of this if we want to continue to have a normal family relationship, so while we can't use our vampire gifts to make you forget, I'm going to have to do that by magic."

"Darling, magic won't stick. He'll likely remember some eventually."

"Yeah, I know," Bella said sadly as she knocked Charlie out with her magic and caught him before he fell on the floor. She dragged him over to the couch and made sure he was comfortable. "But hopefully he'll stop taking vervain and then we can make it stick. We can check in a few months or so."

"We can bleed him out."

"Kol!"

"I'm just saying," he shrugged. "But very well, do it your way. I'm sorry for this, Bella."

"We're not going to tell Kai about this, either."

"No one will know what happened," Kol agreed.

Bella sighed as she sat down on the coffee table and looked at her dad. "Kol, could you grab my clothes and stuff from my room? It seems like I'll be coming home with you."

While Kol was happy to do what she asked him to do, especially because she was coming home with him, it was a sad occasion. Making Charlie forget was for his own protection, although he wouldn't have anything to fear from them. This was the best option.

When he was done, Bella was stuffing the crossbow into another bag and had cleaned up. "I made him forget that Joshua called him and everything that he has learned since, especially the research into your family. I planted a nice memory in his mind that we had dinner and that he was confident that you'd keep me safe and that he doesn't have to worry about me while we travel around the world on a budget to see how far we can go, a year long of adventure before starting college. I made him think he agreed to it wholeheartedly because traveling on your own builds character."

"Sounds good."

"And then in a while, we'll come back to make the story stick permanently if it comes back, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing as it never triggered you after I wiped your memories of me in Denver."

"That's because I didn't have anything around me to remind me of you, darling," Kol kissed the top of her head. "Your father is your father. The only way to make it stick is to make him forget that."

"I don't want to do that to him."

"Or to yourself?"

Bella let out a breath and nodded. "Yeah. He doesn't deserve that."

"Very well. Let's go before he wakes."

~o.O.o~

That night, Bella wondered many scenarios to see if she could travel back in time to avoid Charlie being called by Joshua Parker and exposing the supernatural world to him. If she'd go back in time a bit earlier to the point that she met him, and killed him, the whole coven would be dead.

She wasn't sure if that would affect Kai as well, but it was likely that the prison world he was in would collapse.

If she'd go back even further, and kill Joshua Parker, she'd kill Kai for sure.

If she'd go back to after her visit, she'd run into the same problem. So it was unavoidable that the asshat would call Charlie and that sucked.

She could go even further back and just make sure that Joshua was never born, but that also included not having Kai, and while she wanted to fix her father, she wasn't sure if she was willing to sacrifice Kai for that.

It was frustrating to be able to do something and not change a thing because it wouldn't matter. It was either, or. Kai was family too and should Charlie ever find out about the past or what could have been future with Kai, then Charlie would be disappointed in Bella.

"Let's go to Alaska tonight," Kol suggested as he took a sip of his bourbon. He'd seen Bella retreat into her thoughts all evening and it sucked. She needed a jolt. A distraction. "We'll have a great snack on the way and we'll have some fun."

"What about Klaus and Myriam?"

Kol shrugged "They wanted to come along to the Volturi because the Volturi are big players. The Cullens and their family, are not. You and I are strong and powerful enough to wipe the floor with them."

Bella hummed and nodded. "Alright, let's go to Alaska."


	20. Chapter 20

They drove to Vancouver to catch the ferry to Alaska, while Kol wouldn't have minded breaking many speeding laws on the 45 hour car drive in a super fast car, but Bella wanted to be in Alaska, fast. Maybe they'd drive back or continue traveling.

The ferry took about eight hours, and to entertain themselves, Kol had Bella play with compelling the humans aboard the ferry and they discreetly snacked on just about everyone. Kol hadn't been afraid that Bella couldn't handle all the blood, she wasn't prone to addiction like Myriam was. Or like Rippers were. And without anyone supervising them, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. There was no need to hide and there was no need for moderation.

Kol knew that Bella was hurting, and he kept her distracted in more ways than one. After not having slept on the way to the ferry, he booked a hotel room - which was nothing fancy but it had a bed - and there was a simple restaurant. He didn't like Alaska much, he supposed that nobody did, apart from the inhabitants and if you needed to hide from someone.

Cold Ones didn't feel cold, they _were_ cold. And Kol wanted comfort, so they found a house they liked to stay in, found one of the owners outside by their truck, compelled them to let two strangers inside the house before compelling them all to go and stay at the hotel that he'd booked for them.

In the past, he'd just had killed them all. However, there were several reasons why he didn't do it now. He didn't want to attract attention to his and Bella's presence, and Bella wouldn't appreciate the bloodbath.

The next morning, Bella shot Jasper a message, demanding him to tell her the current location of the Cullens and much to Kol's surprise, he actually sent it. "I'm so stupid," Bella muttered as she pocketed her phone. "I'm such an idiot."

"Doubtful, darling."

"So, we know that the Cullens are hanging out with their cousins, the Denali, right?"

"Right."

"It's an actual fucking place here in Alaska, it's a National Park and Preserve and the highest mountain range of North-America."

Kol stifled a grin. "That could have happened to anyone, darling. It doesn't mean you're an idiot." How he managed to say that with a straight face was beyond him, he just started laughing.

Bella was unamused. "It's about 2 hours away by car."

"We can be there in less when running," Kol offered, knowing how badly Bella wanted to have this over with. Complete and utter freedom was close, and she could taste it. And he could sympathise with her, he had felt the same way, many times over. "Might be a good way to calm yourself before you end up hurting yourself."

She shoved her hands in her pockets as she entertained the idea of running or traveling by car. "I think the car is a better option, I really need to calm down so I'll be level headed when I kill them. I don't want to get hurt. I only want them to hurt, and I want to do it without magic, that'd be too easy for them. They deserve to suffer."

Kol shrugged. "There are plenty of ways to hurt them creatively with magic, darling."

"Yeah… but it's the easy way out. Only Jasper and Rosalie deserve that, I guess. Sort of? I mean, Rose didn't like me and tried to stay away from me and Jasper handed himself in to the Volturi… and he's going to kill Alice the moment we show our faces."

"That's remorse. I think they should all die."

She was hesitant. "Or, I could take them to Klaus and have him compel them a different life."

"One filled with agony?" Kol said hopeful. "They don't deserve anything but."

"I don't know," Bella replied, sighing as she sat down on a bench and looked up at him.

Kol sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "What's wrong, darling? You're being indecisive."

She nodded. "This isn't… I don't know how to explain this but… it feels… wrong and good to take my revenge but…" Bella let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "I need a different solution."

"What?"

"I know that we killed the Volturi, and they deserve that because I wasn't the only human Cold Ones manipulated… and that was a lot of fun," Bella let out a chuckle. "Thrilling and fun. But, on the other hand, we did kill them."

"That's what we do, darling. We're vampires, we kill anyone who gets in our way or has hurt us. Or, in Nik's case, keep some of them alive to play with."

"And I get that," Bella nodded as she looked out over the bay. There were some birds on the water, diving and coming back up again, the sound of the water and the splashing of the birds almost distracted her from her thoughts. "I can feel that rage, that need to kill to get even. Killing Victoria and the newborns was an accident, we slaughtered the Volturi," she let out a small chuckle. "And it felt good. But it's… not me? My dad's a cop. Protect and serve."

"And?"

"He taught me how to defend myself, not that I should inflict harm on others."

"Protect."

"What about it?"

"By killing the Volturi, and the Cold Ones and their cousins, aren't you protecting the rest of humanity by ridding the world of them? They won't be able to hurt anyone else," Kol countered, afraid he wasn't going to get some killing in now. "You have the power and strength to protect people now. If you don't want to do it for you, do it for the people they can still hurt in the future, innocent non-superpowered people, defenseless, like you once were."

She just looked at him blankly.

"Look, we just like killing things and play with our enemies, we keep the damage to a minimum. But those Cold Ones… they say they keep to themselves but honestly. You've seen first hand what they can do to people. The ultimate revenge is to make sure they won't hurt anyone else."

"Yeah, I know."

"But?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Small lapse of sanity, I guess?" A small smile appeared on her face. "Maybe I'm nervous."

"What for? They're nothing but marble statues. Easy to smash, especially with your magic."

"There's history."

"All the more fun to crush them," Kol grinned. "I mean, if you really don't want to go through with it, that's alright, I'll do it by myself."

"What!"

"What?" Kol replied sheepishly. "Two good reasons for me to do it; one, I like killing things and two, I promised you that nobody was ever going to hurt you again and that you'd be free. By killing the Cold Ones, you will be. And once you are, you and I are going to travel the world. That was the deal."

She softly brushed his lips with hers. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright, darling," he smiled at her. "It'll get easier, I promise."

~o.O.o~

Bella stepped aside as she could hear something come off the ceiling and looked at her and Kol's handiwork. A lot of emotions had come out as she'd dismantled Edward. Anger. Sadness. Rage. Fury. Seeing Kol go to town on Emmett and Rosalie made her feel horny and Jasper not only killed his wife but everyone else who came close to Bella.

Jasper was now standing in the doorway, looking lost and in shock with himself.

Bella hadn't used her magic at all, she had merely used her raw vampire strength which was enough to break Edward. It had been enough. Easy. Satisfying. Liberating.

The weight that she had felt on her shoulders and in her chest was gone and it felt so good. She proudly looked around in the living room where parts of Cold Ones were laying around, leaking, and she just had the biggest grin on her face as she moved through the house, kicking some parts away from others so they wouldn't be able to reassemble.

Everything that could break, was broken. Cold Ones, furniture, paintings, the works. The only thing that was still standing was the house with flammable Cold One venom smeared across the walls, ceilings and of course on the floors. Bella might have used her magic for that.

She found her way downstairs again and was pushed against a wall by Kol, who smothered her with a kiss, his hands roaming over her body. "I'm so proud of you, darling," he eventually said. "What are we going to do with the two remaining Cold Ones?"

"Two?"

Kol nodded as he thumbed over his shoulder.

Bella looked over his shoulder and looked at the extra Cold One that was now standing next to Jasper, sporting a stupefied look on his face. He was almost as tall as Jasper, had the same long blonde hair and had red eyes. This was a vampire who fed on humans. And he looked like someone who tried too hard to look like a cowboy. Peter. Unpredictable and dangerous Peter. He was Jasper on steroids.

"Relax, I ain't here to hurt ya," Peter said as he put his hands up in defense. "Just makin' sure ya not hurtin' my brother."

"I should be," Bella replied as Kol let go of her. "Give me one good reason as not to kill you both."

"My wife an' I lead a peaceful existence. We feed on the human bottom feeders, the no-good, twisted kind, and are no danger to you."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at the Cold One. "Your so-called brother emotionally manipulated me."

"That's his gift. It'd be akin to you not using your magic to aid you. I ain't making excuses for his actions, I want to ask ya to hand him over into my custody."

"And then what?"

"My wife an' I will make sure he'll pay for what he's done to you an' to others, make an honest man outta him an' we'll be in your debt," he looked over to Kol. "I know ya like havin' strong vampires in ya debt, Kol Mikaelson. For a rainy day."

"You won't be in my debt, mate, you'll be in hers."

"Stop the bloodshed, Bella, ya made ya point by killing the Volturi, the Cullens an' their cousins. Ya won't be messed with again."

"It shouldn't have happened and Jasper is one of the reasons why it happened in the first place."

"There's a thing called mercy. I solemnly swear to keep him away from humans. An' if ya hear otherwise, then ya can come and kill us. Please, have mercy, Bella, allow us to live in peace. Jazz ain't a bad person."

She had been indecisive about Jasper ever since they found him in Volterra, and knowing the history of Peter and Jasper, she thought it might be a good idea. "Where will you be living?"

"Our territory is North America, we ain't go anywhere else."

She let out a breath and nodded. "Okay. But I will keep my eye on you, and I'm not telling you how. One step in the wrong direction and I will come for you."

"Thank you, ma'am," Peter replied as he put his hand on Jasper's shoulder. "We won't let ya down."

"You'd better not." She watched Peter and Jasper leave and turned back to Kol, letting out a breath. "Please tell me I didn't just make the worst mistake ever."

"Nah," Kol replied, putting his arms back around Bella. "It's always good to have powerful beings be in your debt, and I know you have been thinking about sparing the Major anyway."

She nodded and softly kissed him. "Let's set this place on fire and go home."

"That's a great idea," he kissed her back. "Although I'd rather we just start our travels now. You're free."

Bella giggled. "Whatever you want."

"Oh, hey now, that's a dangerous thing to say! You have no idea what I have planned!"

"I'm at your mercy, Kol Mikaelson."

"Oh man."

Laughing, she pulled him out of the house and used her magic to set it on fire. For a while they watched from a distance before Bella's phone beeped.

_PLEASE COME SAVE ME FROM ELIJAH - K_

Letting out a giggle, she showed the message to Kol. "What do you say?"

"Now… that will make my ideas a whole lot more interesting… Look out world!"

THE END

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**A/N: Relativity is now finished! Thank you all for reading and commenting! I'm currently working on a different kind of crossover, a White Collar/Twilight one but you'll see a lot of familiar faces :) xx Buggy**


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